Coronavirus information, Webinar: Getting your vaccine – information for people with intellectual disability, Home & Living and Support for Decision Making Consultations, Accessing allied health professionals via telehealth during lockdown, Tokyo Paralympics, WeThe15, Participant spotlight.
Coronavirus information
Vaccine information: All NDIS participants aged 12 years and over are eligible for the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine.
A vaccination will help protect you and your community. It’s free and voluntary. You can call Disability Gateway on 1800 643 787 to find out more or visit the Department of Health’s website If you need information in a language other than English, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450. If you are deaf, or hard of hearing you can call the National Relay Service on 1800 555 660. Easy Read resources, including on vaccine types, are available on the Department of Health website. Office closures: In response to COVID-19 restrictions, there are a number of offices closed across Australia.
Webinar: Getting your vaccine - information for people with an intellectual disability
The Australian Government Department of Health (supported by Inclusion Australia) is hosting a free webinar for people with an intellectual disability and their families about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The webinar includes a chat between Tara Elliffe, a self-advocate from New South Wales, and Nick Lennox, a doctor who works with people with an intellectual disability and the Department of Health. They will talk about Tara's recent experience getting vaccinated, and answer your questions about how to get the vaccine and why getting the vaccine is important. The webinar is on Wednesday, 1 September - 11am (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria) - 10.30am (South Australia and Northern Territory) - 9am (Western Australia) Register to attend.
Have your say: Home & Living and Support for Decision Making Consultations
As we plan for the future of the NDIS we want your feedback to ensure it works for you. We are undertaking two consultation processes to inform the development of a Home and Living policy and Support for Decision Making policy. We are seeking feedback from participants, nominees, families and carers, as well as providers and stakeholders in a range of different ways including, but not limited to, an online survey, online information sessions and targeted workshops with participants with complex communications needs. Through a wide variety of consultation activities, we aim to build a deep understanding of the key topics and issues that need to be addressed in the Home and Living and Support for Decision Making policy. To get the consultation started, we are seeking feedback on two consultation papers via online surveys on our website:
Consultation paper: An ordinary life at home
Consultation paper: Supporting you to make your own decisions
You can submit your feedback in a number of formats, including audio and video files: PDF, DOCX, MP3, MOV, AVI.
Submissions are open and have been extended until 5pm AEST 10 September 2021.
Accessing allied health professionals via telehealth during lockdown
During lockdown, there are different options for accessing health services to help protect patients and health workers and stop the spread of coronavirus – this includes telehealth. Allied health professionals including psychologists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, occupational therapists, exercise physiologists, speech pathologists and dietitians are eligible to provide telehealth services. If you are unwell or need to self-isolate, you can still attend a consultation via phone or video call. And for Australians living in rural and remote areas telehealth can allow you to access allied health services that may have been previously difficult to attend. Benefits of telehealth include:
improved access to healthcare
reduced travel, expense and time away from home
reduced waiting times supporting faster diagnosis and appropriate treatment
improved continuity and quality of care
local treatment from a known healthcare provider, under specialist supervision
increased opportunity to contact your healthcare provider between face-to-face consults
You don’t need any special equipment for telehealth, and can either use your phone or a computer. You and your provider will decide the best system to use for your needs. A telehealth claim field has been added to the myplace provider portal for NDIS supports delivered via telehealth. For more information visit our website or Department of Health.