NDIS Services
About NDIS
What it is
The National Disability Insurance Scheme provides funding directly to individuals who have a disability, to pay for supports and services they need to be more independent and live the life they choose. Funding has to be spent on items directly related to the disability, based on the assessed needs of the individual.
How to apply
If you think you are eligible for the NDIS, you can:
- contact your local NDIS Office or local NDIS partner or call 1800 800 110 and ask for an NDIS Access Request Form (PDF 1MB) to be mailed or emailed to you.
- download and complete the NDIS Access Request Form (PDF 1MB) on your computer and email it to enquiries@ndis.gov.au with supporting information.
- download the NDIS Access Request Form (PDF 1MB) on your computer, print it out, and mail it to PO Box 700, Canberra, ACT 2601 with supporting information.
- phone the NDIS on 1800 800 110 to be supported to apply to the NDIS.
Eligibility
-Aged under 65 years*,
-be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or Protected Special Category Visa holder,
-have a permanent impairment, and
-need disability-specific supports to complete daily life activities
*From 2023, children under nine (9) should first contact an Early Childhood Partner, who will determine whether the child is best suited to the NDIS, or other supports in the community. The closest Early Childhood Partner can be found here:
https://www.ndis.gov.au/contact/locations
NDIS at VASS:
VASS is registered to provide the following NDIS services:
Assist-Life Stage, Transition (Support Coordination Level 2) (0106) – assists participants to get the most out of their NDIS supports, and builds participants’ capacity and independence
Assist Personal Activities (0107) – assistance with personal hygiene tasks, such as showering, that participants are unable to do themselves
Participate Community (0125) – one-on-one support to help participate in community, social and recreational activities
Household Tasks (0120) – assistance with essential cleaning and gardening activities that are difficult for the participant to undertake
Group/Centre Activities (0136) – a social group that increases a participant’s social supports, and helps meet other individual goals
Assist-Travel/ Transport (0108) – transport to and from activities
Services VASS cannot provide
VASS cannot provide NDIS services other than those it is registered for. This includes:
- Restrictive Practices
- Medication Management
- High Intensity Supports, including Complex Bowel Care, Enteral (Tube) Feeding and Management, Severe Dysphasia Management, Tracheostomy Management, Urinary Catheter Management, Ventilator Management, Subcutaneous Injections, Complex Wound Management
Staff profiles
Susan Kiyoo – Support Coordinator
Susan works with clients (and their families) who have Support Coordination in their NDIS Plan. Susan helps clients understand their plan and utilise it in the best way possible. Susan speaks Arabic and Chaldean.
Farah Abdyashoa – NDIS Care Manager
Farah works with clients who have core supports in their plan. Farah helps to get the core supports set up, and liaise between the client and the care worker, to ensure the client is meeting their goals. Farah speaks Arabic.
Maliheh Saeedi – NDIS Care Manager
Maliheh also supports clients with core supports to get the core supports set up, and liaise between the client and the care worker. Maliheh also coordinates the onboarding of care workers. Maliheh speaks Farsi.
Evelyn Dowling – NDIS Compliance Officer
Evelyn ensures VASS is meeting its compliance obligations, including working in line with the NDIS Practice Standards and Code of Conduct.
All staff, including care workers, speak an additional language, with Arabic, Assyrian, Chaldean and Persian languages covered. Staff also have high levels of cultural responsiveness.
Feedback from clients and families*:
‘Our direct support worker is amazing, honestly couldn’t be happier and my son adores him’
‘Thank you to VASS for supporting our family and finding the right support worker. It wasn’t easy finding the right fit but VASS did.’
‘Good staff that support [the client] to help achieve her goals’
*Minor changes to quotes have been made to ensure anonymity.
Support Coordination
Support Coordinators support participants to understand and get the most out of their plans. They empower participants to interact with the NDIA and the supports in their plan. This includes information provision, helping clients plan and collecting feedback about whether supports are helping them meet their goals.
While Support Coordinators help participants connect with other NDIS supports, you do not have to be with VASS for both Support Coordination and other supports. For more information about this, see the Conflict of Interest declaration [hyperlink].
Community Participation
Community participation supports participants to get out and about, to take part in activities they enjoy or require. Support workers assist the participant in attending and making the most of these activities, building their independence in the process. Participants can feel more connected to the local community and the life they wish to lead. Activities can be as diverse as going to shopping centres, swimming pools, cafes or the movies, as long as they help meet the participant’s goals.
Daily Activities
Daily Activities supports participants with completing tasks of everyday life that they may be having difficulty completing on their own. This includes personal hygiene tasks such as showering and dressing. For some clients this may include plans to build up their independence when completing these tasks.
Household tasks
Household tasks entails support for activities around the home that are difficult for the participant to undertake, such as cleaning and gardening. This relates to essential cleaning and gardening that may impact on the health and safety of participants, and cannot be used for regular non-essential cleaning. Larger cleaning, such as cleaning walls or curtains, can be undertaken once or twice per year.
Group/Centre Activities
At VASS, group centre-based activities are group sessions that promote and contribute to the goals of each member of the group. Groups are formed based on participant interest and age. Activities can range from information sessions, to cooking classes, make-up classes, arts and crafts, and many more, based on participants’ preferences. Activities for children and teenagers will be age-appropriate. If participants prefer to talk and share their stories, that’s fine too! Participants will be able to meet new people and make friends in a supported environment.
Policies
Summary of all policies here
Advocates
Participants have the right to use an advocate of their choosing (including an independent advocate) at any point, including when making a complaint or discussing an incident. You can find an independent advocate using the Disability Advocacy Finder at:
https://askizzy.org.au/disability-advocacy-finder
Privacy
VASS only collects information that it needs to provide services. All information is kept confidential – i.e. securely, and not shared with anyone without your permission. Sometimes VASS will share information, but will ask for consent first, and will not share information without consent. Only staff members that need to will have access to the information. Participants can ask to see the information that VASS holds about them. In some cases, such as threats to the life of the participant or someone else, VASS is allowed to breach privacy. To read a copy of VASS’s privacy policy:
Email ndis@vass.org.au or
Call (03) 9359 2861 and ask for a copy of the policy, or for someone to explain this to you verbally and/or in your preferred language
Feedback and Complaints
VASS welcomes all feedback, including complaints, as an opportunity to learn. Anyone, including clients, carers/ family members, potential clients, staff, volunteers, other service providers, and community members, can give feedback about any aspect of VASS services at any time. All feedback and complaints will be treated confidentially and may be made anonymously if you wish. Feedback can be made:
-using our feedback form or complaint form (or Arabic version) – ask for a copy as per the details below
-in person at our Head Office, C1, 1 -13 The Gateway, Broadmeadows, Vic 3047
-over the phone on (03) 9359 2861
-via email at: ndis@vass.org.au
Arabic, Assyrian, Chaldean and Persian speaking workers are available. If you need another interpreter (including sign language), or form translated into another language, or Braille, please let us know.
To complain about VASS’s NDIS Services externally you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission by:
-calling 1800 035 544 (free call from landlines) or TTY 133 677. Interpreters can be organised by calling TIS National directly on 131 450.
-calling National Relay Service and ask for 1800 035 544.
-Completing a complaint contact form https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=PRD00-OCF
Conflict of Interest
As VASS is registered to provide Support Coordination and other NDIS supports, this presents a potential conflict of interest as it could benefit VASS if you were referred to our services by our Support Coordinator, or vice versa. However, our services may not be the most appropriate one for you, or in line with your choice.
VASS has some policies and processes in place to manage conflict of interest. These include: the VASS NDIS Conflict of Interest Policy, the Conflict of Interest Register, and giving you at least three suitable options for every support in your NDIS Plan. You can ask for a copy of these policies.
Each staff member also completes a Declaration of Private Interests form, so that it is clear whether there are any other potential conflicts to be managed. Furthermore, staff are not paid on number of clients, so there is no financial incentive to refer clients to ourselves. VASS is a not-for-profit organisation, our purpose is to is address the social, cultural and welfare needs of the Arabic speaking background (ASB) communities in Victoria.
You do not have to choose any of our other services for your NDIS supports if you are receiving Support Coordination from VASS, or vice versa. We will treat you the same either way.
If you have a question about this, please feel free to ask as per the details below.
Support Coordination Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement
Incidents
VASS values safety as the highest priority. Participants, staff, family members or others can let us know if they have experienced an incident, issue or something that made them feel uncomfortable. If participants report an incident it will not negatively impact their services. VASS wants to learn from all experiences to provide a better service. Participants can have an advocate support them in this process.
When an incident happens, VASS has to complete internal incident reporting, and depending on the incident, may need to notify the NDIS Commission or the Police. VASS will work to resolve or redress the harm caused by the incident, and will keep you informed of how we do this.
As well as telling VASS, if you have experienced abuse or neglect, you can contact the NDIS Quality and Safety Commission as per the details above (under Feedback), or the National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline. The National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline is an independent and confidential service for reporting mistreatment of people with a disability.
Phone: 1800 880 052
TTY users, call 133 677, then ask for 1300 00 3224
Emergency management
VASS has policies and procedures in place to minimise the impact of emergencies and disasters, and to support the safety of participants and staff. The overarching Emergency Management policy can be found here:
Download our Emergency Management policy here
Participants also have individual emergency management plans. If participants are unsure of their plan, they can contact their key worker and ask to have it given or explained to them in their preferred method. If participants are unsure of their key worker, they can:
Call: 03 9359 2861
Email: ndis@vass.org.au
Price Guide
VASS charges fees according to the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits, the latest of which can be found here:
https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements
This document changes from time to time.
