A Victorian-based disability sector operator wanting to help people with disability explore some of the nation’s most remote locations and another keen to establish accommodation for younger people with early onset dementia are among eight organisations across the nation set to receive a competitive industry edge.
As part of its Federally funded interactive learning program, NDIS Success, the Community Business Bureau (CBB) has announced that Austour and Orana Care and Consulting are among the successful grant recipients to receive business development support.
CBB General Manager, Consulting and Business Services, Jane Arnott, said: “This direct business consulting opportunity helps these organisations take what they’ve learned through our webinar series and apply that knowledge to some very exciting projects and plans they have in the pipeline.”
“We have been overwhelmed by the interest received during our first round of NDIS Success from small to medium organisations across Australia wanting to adapt and scale services, as well as larger organisations wanting to fast-track their efforts to deliver on the needs of Australians living with disability,” she said.
“Those who successfully completed the program were invited to apply for direct business consulting support to help them take an opportunity to the next step of development, and the many applications we received showcased ingenuity, commitment and innovation at its finest.”
In welcoming the mentoring opportunity, Orana Care Managing Director, Dawn Inman-Wyness said tapping into the CBB team’s experience would help advance plans to establish purpose-built care homes across Victoria for younger people diagnosed with early onset dementia.
“As it stands, there are no care homes specifically designed to help younger people with early onset dementia anywhere in Victoria, which means a person as young as twenty has little choice but to go into an aged care facility – if they are fortunate enough to find a vacancy at all,” she said.”
“Young people with any disability that require 24-hour care have no choice or control in their lives and are left to endure Aged Care Facilities where the average age group is 80+. Staff are not trained to attend to the needs of this type of cohort and family members who leave loved ones in Aged Care facilities become extremely distressed themselves.”
“I have spent four years trying to turn a vision into reality, and I now have opportunity to move this forward. It’s an extremely exciting opportunity for my organisation and will deliver a solution that addresses a growing unmet need in the community.”
Austour General Manager, Glenda Ashton, said the organisation planned to use the mentoring opportunity to explore expansion of its current tour operations so that people living with disability could experience the beautiful and natural wonders in some of the nation’s local and remote destinations.
“Australia has arguably some of the most magnificent natural wonders on the planet, and we want to use accessible all-terrain vehicles specifically designed for adult wheelchair users, so they can comfortably explore Uluru and other outback destinations which, until now, would not have been easily accessible,” Ms Ashton said.
“We are also keen to explore offering short break tours in regional destinations for adults living with physical and intellectual disabilities who want to see the most remote parts of this country but until now have had to miss out because the support they need to enjoy a holiday is just not easily accessed.”
“We are already well-known for providing safe and accessible tourism opportunities for people with disabilities, and our objective is to build on that success by expanding our offerings to a wider number of adults living with disabilities, and the CBB mentoring opportunity will help to make that happen.”
Physiotherapists, speech and occupational therapists, medical practitioners, and podiatrists were among an array of participants who accumulated more than 800 webinar views in the initial round of NDIS Success, gaining valuable insight into the critical steps needed to thrive and grow in the NDIS environment from a panel of expert presenters.
Dozens of organisations who completed the program were then eligible to apply for the Federally funded direct business consulting opportunity.
“The CBB team has helped hundreds of Australian service providers operate successfully in the NDIS environment and we will draw on that experience to help advance a range of initiatives which will address critical service and support gaps and ultimately be of great benefit to people with disability,” Ms Arnott said.
Round two registrations for NDIS Success are now open for organisations already providing disability services who are keen to expand as well as organisations in an associated field wanting to move into the disability sector.
To secure your interest in the next round of NDIS Success.
This program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. CBB’s Community Development Fund is also contributing funds to the program.
