CEO Update 10 June POS

Important Information for Accommodation families and friends at Bayley House – Programs of Support

The NDIA has released a major overhaul of the NDIS price list which means changes to the way we provide supports, deliver programs and invoice for services.

These new requirements, which include the roll-out of Programs of Support (PoS), have been implemented by the NDIA in conjunction with the new SIL pricing structure introduced in July 2020.

Given this change was announced without prior consultation, Bayley House, like other disability service providers has been required to make many changes both at service level and back of house, before implementing PoS with clients and families. We acknowledge that the challenge of communicating with you all about the changes has been significant and we anticipate that the recent appointment of a new Deputy GM Accommodation Options will assist us to do this better. Andy Gabriel has considerable experience in supported accommodation, SIL in particular, and we look forward to his commencement on 28th June 2021.

Understanding Programs of Support

The NDIS has introduced PoS and over time Bayley House intends to adopt this model of service delivery across Accommodation and Day Service. A PoS helps us provide better support by ensuring that goals/outcomes are a standard part of all that we do. Goals are reviewed at the conclusion of the stated period, normally 12 weeks. The goal may continue for a further 12 weeks if required or relevant. An example of a recent PoS goal is to “help residents maintain healthy choices and preparation of healthy snacks and meals”

With this approach, providers claim against the plan based on an agreed weekly Roster of Care, via the PoS. The PoS gives greater certainty to clients and families that the supports are delivered at the agreed levels and monitored more frequently throughout the year. Under the Program of Support model, providers can charge even when a client is absent, as supports delivered as part of a Program of Support are not subject to the cancellation rules.

In implementing Programs of Support, Bayley House needs to specify that arrangement in each signed agreement. Please be aware that without a signed agreement we are unable to deliver services. Clients are able to exit from the Program of Support without cost, subject to a two (2) week notice period. But please note, Bayley House will only be providing Accommodation services via the Programs of Support model, so a choice to not access services through the PoS model is a choice to not receive services from Bayley House.

How Programs of Support will be adopted at Bayley House

A Program of Support agreement will have been issued to you via DocuSign or will be sent once you transition to the new SIL pricing model at your next plan review.

Programs of Support will be run for 12-week periods within each residence. If a Program of Support agreement is not signed service delivery cannot continue.

All Bayley House Accommodation Supports will be provided under the Program of Support structure and pricing model, effective from your transition into the new SIL pricing model, which was introduced on the 1st July 2020.

At the beginning of each 12-week period, you will receive a new Program of Support agreement to sign via DocuSign. As noted above, this is a requirement from the NDIA.

Questions?

We hope we have laid out these changes in a comprehensive understandable way and you have found this letter informative.

Please contact us if you have any questions

Programs of Support/Non Face to Face Time/Capital Centre Costs

Return to Day Programs:

As the government has announced an easing of lockdown restrictions, Day Programs will be open Friday 11th June with regular transport. It has been so wonderful to see so many people join us online and we hope you enjoyed the program that the staff put together for you.

A freeze to Price Guide Changes:

The NDIA is keeping us on our toes and last week the Minister announced that the new pricing model with the deadline for Day Programs to move to the new NDIS pricing structure from 1st July 2021 has been further deferred to 1st July 2022.

We had completed a great deal of planning to prepare for the move to the new price guide which was going to incorporate the rollout of Programs of Support, Non-Face-to-Face time and Capital Centre Costs and had scheduled a webinar to discuss these changes with you. Given the complexity and in our view negative impact of some of the pricing changes, Bayley House will accept the Minister’s office and defer these changes for the time being. We will advise you further when the time is appropriate to make further changes.

The Day Program team has put in a great deal of work and training to move to Programs of Support and even though we will not adopt the new pricing structure at this point we will still implement the day-to-day practical side of Programs of Support. This means that every activity/program that clients engage in through Day Programs will have a specific goal and an overarching outcome that the groups of clients will work towards.

We will continue to provide progress and feedback reports for your NDIS meetings and will continue with our quarterly goal monitoring and annual check-ins with clients and families.

Term Break:

A reminder that Day Programs will be closed as scheduled from Monday 28th June to Friday 9th July. Community Leisure and Recreation are running holiday options during the term break and details will be emailed out shortly for this exciting program.

Stay Safe and Well

Community and Lifeskills