NDIA Accountability Project

Capability and Culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)

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Tandem submission

The capability and culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), with reference to operational processes and procedures, and the nature of staff employment

Details

  • Tandem Inc., 70 Trenerry Crescent, Abbotsford 3067
  • Telephone: 03 8803 5555
  • Authorised by: Marie Piu
  • Position in organisation: Chief Executive Officer

For more information about this submission please contact:

  • Marie Piu, Chief Executive Officer

Tandem Inc. The Trusted Voice of Family, Carers and Supporters in Mental Health December 16 2022

Tandem Report 2022 Page | 0

About Tandem

Who we are

Tandem is proud to be the trusted voice of family, carers and supporters in mental health in Victoria. As the Victorian peak body with a sole focus on the needs and interests of mental health carers, Tandem’s role is to provide leadership, coordination and knowledge for the organisations and individuals who are working to improve outcomes for Victorian people living with mental health challenges. Tandem is committed to ensuring that the importance of the contribution, expertise, experiences and needs of family, friends and other carers is recognised and addressed, and that they will be essential partners in treatment, service delivery, planning, research and evaluation.

What we do

Tandem helps raise community awareness about mental health issues and the challenges faced by family, carers and supporters of people with mental health issues and

  • provides information, education and training to Members and others involved in caring for people with mental health issues.
  • ensures state and federal governments recognise the role, contribution and needs of the carers of people with mental health issues.
  • facilitates communication between carers, government and other stakeholders in the mental health system.
  • advocates for policy changes and improved services to address carer needs.
  • supports carer participation in the planning, delivery and evaluation of services for people with mental health issues and their carers.
  • facilitates the development of relationships between carers and carer-focussed organisations and other stakeholders in the mental health service system, and facilitate the establishment of partnerships between carers and service providers; and
  • encourages research on best practice in carer support.

Who is a mental health carer? a) a family member, partner, friend or other person; b) of any age; who will commonly: be actively involved in caring for and supporting a person contribution and needs of the carers of people with mental with mental health issues, with his role not necessarily a static role, but rather a role that is capable of fluctuation over time according to the needs of the person with mental health issues and the carer; c) have their life impacted by the wellbeing of the person with mental health issues; and

d) undertake for the care of and support of a person with mental health from Tandem’s Rules of Association, 2019 p.2

Acknowledgments

Tandem welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme with the inquiry into the Capability and Culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

Tandem acknowledges and applauds the work of the NDIA and the codesign with many key stakeholder organisations and individuals representing mental health consumers and their family and carers to develop the Psychosocial Disability Recovery Oriented Framework. This framework in principle highlights the tailored need for the NDIS to deliver more responsive access, supports and planning to participants living with psychosocial disability, their family, and carers. This framework is an ongoing commitment and work to deliver and implement the six guiding principles. Tandem members, family and carers calling our state-wide support and referral service and the living and lived experience workforce within Tandem inform this submission.

The capability and culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), with reference to operational processes and procedures, and nature of staff employment

Tandem shares Carers Australia view that there is a lack of Carer – inclusive processes and procedures this has been and is detrimental to the capability and culture of the NDIA1. Consultations with our members highlight that family and carers in mental health are doing the work of support coordinators and support workers. NDIA has no formal processes in identifying the role of family and carers or the acknowledgement of the care and support they provide, and the money they save the Government in providing this support. Tandem knows that the scheme itself relies on the support from family and carers in “filling in the gaps” from participant’s plans. The NDIA culture is viewed as power and control, power over the decisions, resources, and funding for meaningful supports in participants plans. NDIS Act 2013 promotes the choice and control those participants accessing the scheme will have, family and carers have neither.

Tandem members inform our staff on the state-wide support and referral line that they are ageing and being a parent of a forty-year-old who needs support to get out of bed or maintain their daily living without their support is beyond parenting. Adults living with a psychosocial disability who are experiencing difficulty in accessing the scheme or have inadequate supports in their plans to live a good life and be independent of their ageing family and carers are growing in numbers. This impacts on family and carers ability to provide ongoing support and care to the participant. Ageing family and carers tell us they need their own supports.

Recommendation:

To consistently capture and record information about family and carers separately from the participant and mandate the use of Carer Impact Statements.

Recommendation:

The NDIA factor in the cost of informal care provided by family and carers, and fund carer supports in the participant’s plan.

The NDIA website has a section on How we can help Carers, and states, “families and carers provide help and support that could otherwise be provided by formal supports or paid support workers” then goes on to say “we will take into account what is reasonable to expect from families, carers, informal networks and the

Principle-Based Recommendations

Family and Carers in Mental Health Require Respite Options

community”2. Family and carers in mental health require a range of respite options and not traditional forms in that the participant has a break away, that respite option is rarely taken up with the participant with a psychosocial disability. Supporting a person with mental health challenges or psychological distress requires a different skill set and education and understanding of mental health and psychological distress and should be identified as a minimum requirement for employment.

Principle 2 of the Psychosocial Disability Recovery Oriented Framework; Valuing lived experience Embed lived experience positions in both policy and operational areas of NDIA to improve practice and provide leadership on psychosocial disability3.

Tandem regularly hears from family and carers that staff do not understand how to support someone experiencing mental health challenges and psychosocial disability and will ask the family member what they do. The lack of consistency and professionalism with the workforce is an issue that impacts family, carers, and participants. Staff arriving late or cancelling at last minute, impacts on family and carers in the workforce and they are performing the role of staff and filling the gaps yet again.

Recommendation:

The NDIA embed all six principals of the Psychosocial Disability Recovery Oriented Framework immediately.

Recommendation:

Provide ongoing training to the workforce and professional supervision that supports the workforce and provides oversight of the issues arising.

Impacts Of Ndias Capability And Culture On Experiences Of People With Disability

The impacts of NDIA capability and culture on the experiences of people with disability and NDIS participants trying to access information, support, and services from the Agency.

NDIA staff, Local Area Coordinators roles are to assist people in access and navigation of the scheme and supports, we frequently hear from families that they are told there is no capacity to do this adequately. While Tandem acknowledges the current challenges in the workforce, and the impact Covid-19 has had on retaining staff, NDIA must address the remuneration and skill required to perform these roles to a high standard. The impact is the lack of staff who have knowledge and experience in supporting a person with a psychosocial disability, therefore access, planning and review processes have poorer outcomes for those participants and their family and carers.

The NDIA must understand that training staff is integral to the success of the scheme, information on eligibility, access, planning, review, and appeals information is not consistent, staff should not interpret what they think the legislation means, family and carers are confused and receive conflicting information. Tandem hears from family and carers that when they ask for information from NDIA they are directed to the website, and they find it very difficult to navigate.

Ndias Community Connectors Program Was A Valuable Service

The NDIS Community Connectors Program was a valuable service, and in Victoria was delivered through the Carer Gateway. This provided family and carers with access to a range of NDIS partners in the community, and linkages to carer supports offered through the Carer Gateway. Tandem members and family and carers calling the state-wide support and referral line who had accessed this support, found it extremely useful, easy to access and could be offered as outreach to the family and carer. The model was supportive of family, carers, and participants.

Recommendation

The NDIA reinstate the NDIS Community Connectors Program and broaden the reach by opening the age eligibility, to below 65.

References

  1. Carers Australia, Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Inquiry into the Capability and Culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency. 2022

  2. National Disability Insurance Scheme website, Understanding the NDIS, how we can help carers.

  3. National Disability Insurance Scheme Psychosocial Disability Recovery Oriented Framework.

Tandem Report 2022