Saturday, 1st July 2017 brings the long awaited NDIS to Tweed. It is a very exciting time and one we are looking forward to. We have been planning for so long, however, we have been unable to move forward with some of our plans as we have had to maintain a business as usual approach to honour our existing ADHC contracts.
Over the coming months, you will receive your NDIS plans. Due to legislative requirements you are required to sign a service agreement with the organisation that supports you. Lifebridge will not be able to provide service unless we have a signed service agreement. As such, we require you to please notify us as soon as you receive your NDIS plan. This will help make your transition as seamless as possible.
Under a block funded model, organisations were able to provide subsidised services. This means we did not charge our customers the true cost of service provision as it was part of the block funding. Now that Lifebridge will not be receiving block funding it will be necessary to charge full price for some activities.
Lifebridge is currently managing its transport fleet in line with the introduction of NDIS and expect to decrease the number of vehicles we currently provided. For 1:1 customers Lifebridge will either limit or not be able to provide transport. This will be discussed with you when you receive your NDIS plan and alternatives will be explored with you.
Also, the NDIS has placed a pricing cap on some of the activities being offered. This pricing does not cover the full cost of the service for an organisation like Lifebridge. The costs that we charge not only pay for your support worker they also contribute to all the things that sit behind a service to make it happen. E.g support co-ordinators, rostering staff, payroll staff, managers, electricity, internet data, petrol, registrations, insurances, workers compensation to name but a few things.
In order to continue providing the services that you are asking for and to keep prices as low as possible, Lifebridge will need to change its business model. This means that over the coming twelve months we will be changing our staff structure and moving to a more mobile and flexible model of service.
Some of the changes will include:
- Rather than meeting at and running activities from Caloola, eventually they all will be run in the community.
- Transport will be limited and will only be provided according to plans
- Your core relationship will move from your co-ordinator to your support worker
- All Lifebridge employees will only be able to provide assistance according to your plans
- There will be greater flexibility in what is provided and you will have a strong voice, with other participants in creating the activities that you participate in.
Once again, I would like to remind all our customers that if you require more information regarding why Lifebridge is changing its service model or in preparation for your planning meeting, please contact us on 1800 043 186. Lifebridge has a team of NDIS Champions that have been working alongside many of our customers to ensure that they understand the changes and are prepared.
I would also like to remind our existing customers that it is extremely important that you notify Lifebridge as soon as you receive an activated plan. Lifebridge is not informed when you transition so it important to ensure a smooth change over that you let us know.
On behalf of Lifebridge, we look forward to continuing our partnership and navigating the transition alongside you. Let’s take this historical step together and create the successful outcomes that have been promised.