Priorities

Priority Area 1–Employment (Project 1) / Objective
Vocational / To review current vocational employment pathways for people who have complex employment needs.
Priority Area 1 – Employment (Project 2)
Public Sector employment / To review the current Western Australian Public Sector employment process, relevant policies and guidelines (in conjunction with a paper written by Haydn Lowe) to find a way, and to make recommendations on, changes to the recruitment process that would allow for people with disabilities or mental illness to receive prior knowledge of all upcoming public sector vacancies from levels one to three, and without attracting reverse discrimination claims or other negatives.
Priority Area 2 – Transport (Project 1)
Public Transport / To encourage the Department of Transport to include in their new app, real-time information on Access issues re public transport conditions, facilities, information and services by making recommendations and suggesting collaboration with DoT and the Disability Services Commission / disability sector.
Priority Area 2 – Transport (Project 2)
Multiuse vehicles to supplement maxi taxis / To investigate the concept of utilising the existing fleets of wheelchair accessible vans managed by not-for-profit organisations such as Ability (formerly TCCP) and Rocky Bay, to improve public transport options for people with disabilities.
Priority Area 3 – Sport and Recreation
Age appropriate recreational activities / To investigate barriers and / or challenges to people with disabilities participating in mainstream sport and recreational activities, to examine and present examples of best practice and to identify realistic solutions to those barriers.
Priority Area 4 - Education
Inclusion and Access / To review relevant national and state policies and guidelines related to access for students with disability, and identify current issues in order to identify example of good practice and provide relevant advice.
Priority Area 5 – Policy Review
Family members as paid support workers (stage 2) / To undertake a review of the Disability Services Commission’s policy called ‘Family members as paid support workers’ for the purpose of redefining and providing absolute clarity about:
  1. Who can provide support and what kind of support they can provide?
  2. Who can be paid, for what supports they can be paid, and what funding is allowed to be used for these payments?
  3. What specific considerations will be given to safeguarding and advocacy for the individual with disability and the ‘natural networks’ that are/will be in place?
This will be achieved by replacing the term ‘family supports’ with ‘informal and formal supports’; and by using case studies to demonstrate the meaning of ‘fair and reasonable’ and ‘formal and informal supports’.
Priority Area 6 – Workforce Sustainability
Travel visas for disability sector carers and support workers / To research current visa requirements and provide information to the Minister for Disability Services to support a request to the Australian Government’s Department for Immigration and Border Protection to include within the parameters of the temporary immigration visas of the 400 series allowance for travellers on working holidays to be temporarily employed by families as carers / support staff for people with disabilities, regardless of postcode.

Watching Briefs

  1. National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
  2. National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS)
  3. National Disability Strategy (NDS)
  4. Education
  5. Training
  6. Employment
  7. HACC Program
  8. Housing
  9. Advocacy

External Committees

  1. Consultative Forum on Health and Older Australians, Disability and Carers
  2. Curtin University’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan Implementation Committee
  3. DSC Carers Recognition Act Reference Group
  4. DSC DAIP Implementation Steering Committee
  5. NDSWA Disability Employment Services Sub Committee
  6. Positive Behaviour Framework Guiding Committee
  7. Home Ownership and Affordability of Housing for People with Disability Reference Group
  8. Independent Living Centre’s – Emerging Technology Partnership Group
  9. Parent Managed Early Childhood Intervention Project Reference Group
  10. Clinical and Allied Health Sub Committee
  11. WA NDIS Reference Group

Endorsed by Council on 11 June, 2015

Signed:

Dr Rachel Skoss

Chairperson

Ministerial Advisory Council on Disability

11 June, 2015

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