Sacked!

This is not an everyday event and it is great to know when things get out of control that families can make a change!

Supported Independent Living (Residential) Provider Sacked.

(Yes it is easy to change a day service or an individual support provider, but it almost seemed impossible to change a residential support provider who controlled the staff and the building)

The Guardians mentioned in this press release below are parents who love their children, were incredibly worried about them and wanted something better. They took a stand and the NDIS made it possible for them to force a change in provider.

Have a read below to see the full story and if you want more information just let me know through our contacts page and I will put you in touch with the Milparinka family involved.

Do you who have a family member in a supported accommodation house where the standard of the service is mediocre? There is now something you can do. You can change the provider. It has happened in a supported accommodation house where one of our Milparinka participants live.

The guardians of residents at a northern Melbourne supported accommodation house have dismissed the Supported Independent Living(SIL) provider and negotiated for another provider to take over at the house. The original provider had been at the house for 9 years.

The dismissal of the SIL provider is a warning to all providers that their world has changed under NDIS. Providers who deliver mediocre service, poor management and ignore the concerns of participants and their guardians can be sacked. NDIS has given participants the power to choose their service provider and if it is needed, to dismiss a provider, if they are not satisfied with the service. It is believed that this is the first time this right has been exercised at a group home.

Since the specialist disability accommodation (SDA) house in the northern suburbs opened in 2011, the guardians have raised issues of concern with the SIL provider

The guardians say they have patiently tried to get the provider to more systematically manage service delivery for the residents.

Guardians say they were forced to keep detailed records of service failures and the requests they had made for improvement. Despite complaints to the Victorian Disability Commissioner and the Public advocate, they say there was no observable improvement in the management of the house. “We lost confidence that the organisation could improve the quality of the service delivery” said one parent. “Support workers at the house were left to their own initiatives. The workers tried to do the right thing by the residents but they were let down by lack of supervision and good management”, one parent said.

After concluding that their efforts were not achieving results, the guardians began a search to for another SIL provider. Milparinka staff were able to provide some assistance and after a number of meetings, agreement was reached with a new provider.

At the end of 2019 Guardians of the residents presented the existing provider with a dismissal letter including detailed evidence of the issues that had been raised and not addressed.

The Milparinka parents who were involved are happy to share their learnings with any other concerned guardians.

In case you are wondering the sacked service provider is a very large provider who provides services across all of Australia.