My Independent Support Services | Disability service

My Independent Support Services

Phone: +61 413 344 682

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Businesses
• Local service
• Community
• Disability service

25.01.2022 Last shift for today, Respite.Kids cook their own dinner and I get to enjoy their company & the beautiful internal garden room. 13hr day makes for a tired support worker, but I love every minute of what I do. No greater satisfaction than supporting people to smash their goals and live their best lives

24.01.2022 "My Support worker has an ABN and wants me to pay the full NDIS rate. What should I do?" Such a great question, and a topic of much debate. I’m keen to hear you...r take on this, too! ***Using a Registered Support Worker Agency*** When the NDIS decided that the current rate for an hour of support work during the day is about $54 (as stated as the cap in the current NDIS Price Guide), they figured that based on including a heap of stuff (oncosts) in that thinking. That rate needs to cover stuff like: Take home pay for the worker Federal and State taxes Superannuation Training for the worker Workers Compensation insurance Public liability insurance Professional indemnity insurance Bonus/incentives Rostering Manager/person salary Bookkeeper salary HR person salary Quality Control person salary Rent, electricity, internet, water, toilet paper etc at their offices Computers for office staff Phone allowances Manager/s/CEO salary etc Admin salary to ensure clearances and first aid certificates are up to date Annual staff dinner/events Staff awards Audit costs for registration Professional and peak body memberships And a heap more ***Independent Contractors (NOT employees)*** When a Support Worker runs their own business (with ABN) and works as a genuine contractor (eg not regular shifts and not just one client etc etc (check https://www.ato.gov.au//how-to-work-it-out--employee-or-c/ to help figure that out) do still have organise and pay for themselves some of those expenses above, like: Pay in their pocket Income tax Superannuation Own training Workers Compensation insurance Public liability insurance Professional indemnity insurance But their expenses of doing business are generally quite a bit lower. They generally don’t have to fund a rostering person, extra rent, extra phone charges, a bookkeeper, or most of the stuff listed above, but there may be some extras not included here. So, it makes sense that Independent Contractors will not generally require to be paid the full $54/hour, as relatively, their expenses are usually lower (there will always be exceptions, of course). ***When participant/nominee Self Employs a worker*** If a participant or nominee self employs their worker in an employee relationship, then on top of the worker’s take home pay, the participant/nominee will need to claim from the plan the ancillary (extra) costs of employment, like Federal income taxes Superannuation Specific Training for the worker Workers Compensation insurance Public liability insurance Professional indemnity insurance Bonus/incentives Plus, they *may* need/choose to also cover Bookkeeper/HR person/app (like Ability8 or Xero for example) Phone allowances etc So, when a participant/nominee self employs a worker as an employee, the worker’s pay rate is almost always lower than the charges if they were contractors, because the employer (the participant/nominee) has other stuff they must cover. Here’s a list of the award rates for support workers for reference https://www.fairwork.gov.au//social-and-community-services Of course, there are always exceptions - If you are self managed and have a team of workers and want to pay an especially good and trusted one to run the team, then you might well want to pay them more than the others, maybe even more than the NDIS rate and that should theoretically, be balanced by the savings you make on the other’s workers pay rate if you self employ them. ***So the point of all this?*** Negotiate with your support workers and don’t feel obligated to pay the full NDIS capped Price Guide rate for Independent Contractors or your own employees (or maybe even an agency). Some Support Workers will be worth it, but have a think about your funding and what it needs to cover, and see how and where you might want to make it stretch. If you are self employing your support worker/s, or are worried that your Independent Contractor might be considered an employee under the law, please get professional advice from Fair Work Australia, an HR Consultant and/or lawyer and/or accountant. The above post is NOT professional advice The Growing Space are NOT lawyers, HR professionals, accountants or the Government or anything like that stuff! If you want to hear from a bunch of disabled people who use support workers, some of whom employ their own, check out our Learning Team’s e-learning videos and workbooks all about Support Workers at https://learning.TheGrowingSpace.com.au This post is copyright of The Growing Space 2020. You're welcome to share it here on Facebook, with credit and no edits, but if you want to share it elsewhere, please ask us first - thanks!

23.01.2022 Ginger has had a professional interior clean & will be ready to go for services again as soon as I can. If anyone is looking for a great car detailing service look up James @ Overboard Car Detailing

21.01.2022 Dealing with depression at Christmas time. Across Australia, it is estimated that one million people will be dealing with depression at Christmas time. And i...t’s no surprise really with festive occasions, Christmas trees, gifts and celebrations, comes a myriad of emotional triggers caused by feelings of loneliness, grief, sadness, self-reflection, excessive spending, drinking and fear of socialising. For those with depression, Christmas can often be the season they would prefer to avoid. But for those with family and friends who celebrate the event, that’s not always an option. So, here are our top tips to try to control what you can and let go of what you can’t, during the silly season. Identify your main stressors. Is there someone specific you miss? Is there someone or something specific that stresses you? Does your financial circumstance cause you distress? By pinpointing some of the things that get you down, you can try to organize yourself so that you avoid feeling overwhelmed by everything going on around you. Think about the things that bring you peace and contentment and whatever those things are spend more time doing them! In a lot of cases, that old adage fake it until you make it holds some truth. Obviously, you can’t entirely avoid triggers of depression, but you can try to balance out your feelings and emotions so that you can experience some degree of peace and calm every day. Be realistic and real. Manage your expectations knowing what or who you have to cope with and be true to yourself. Don’t do things that you think will make other people happy, and don’t fall into the trap of thinking that other people will change for you. Avoid known triggers, and put yourself first. Start planning early so you don’t feel so overwhelmed. Shop for gifts as early as possible and if you can, shop on line for the best deals. Stick to your budget and avoid overspending. Christmas doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be a commercialised celebration, it doesn’t have to be lonely and it doesn’t have to be fraught with family tension. By taking the time to think about what triggers depressive feelings and emotions, you can attempt to put strategies in place to avoid them, or at least minimise their impact. https://www.sydneytms.com.au/dealing-depression-christmas-/ #independencehopelaughter #abbacareaustralia #supportlocaltownsville #ndisprovider #focusontheability

20.01.2022 2021 ... plan ahead so you don’t miss out

19.01.2022 Budgeting can be difficult for anyone, if you need help there is a great free resource below. https://moneysmart.gov.au/budgeting/budget-planner

19.01.2022 Out & About with services along the coast this morning. Ginger is rocking the new business badging so it’s even easier to spot us Got to visit this little groover & meet his two kids Honey & Helen.

18.01.2022 Monday’s support service included a touch of gardening

18.01.2022 Chai Latte for the road

17.01.2022 When your this close to your clients home but it’s absolutely bucketing down

17.01.2022 Halfway pit stop. We will have to organise a more thorough exploration of Mt Larcom over the school break, looks like there could be lots of interesting things to see and do.

17.01.2022 EMH has released some new pages to the I Am Deadly set. A great way to speak with kids about their strengths while also learning some Yorta Yorta animal words.... Loving the frog. Acknowledgement and thanks to Jaara Andy, Melbourne based Yorta Yorta woman for the artwork. You can find downloads https://www.emhaws.org.au/i-am-deadly-2 for the set. See more

16.01.2022 Breaking News: Support Coordination Line Items in Core Extended! Yes that's right- extended indefinitely! We've all been waiting months to hear what the futur...e holds for many of the NDIA's COVID response measures. We now finally have some answers. Check out what they say about smart devices, PPE, deep cleaning and more! https://teamdsc.com.au/resources/cos-core-extension [image description: photo of three different coloured buckets, 2 of which have ticks on them]

16.01.2022 Social support. Today services took this lovely little lass for a beach day out, something she doesn’t get to do all that often as she lives in a more rural location. Being able to facilitate these things brings me great joy. Love my work

16.01.2022 Congratulations to Beni for passing his puppy classes tonight

15.01.2022 Last night I received a phonecall that has made my week. The words were simple enough, but the journey behind it was what made them so powerful. Sue I did it! I made my own meal For someone who has an Acquired Brain Injury this is a massive accomplishment It has been a team effort with a number of providers involved working together for the benefit of the participant, so I cannot take all the credit. I can however, relish the sense of satisfaction I get when involved with assisting someone to reach a goal and it is what makes this job so damn worth it Hard work pays off!!

14.01.2022 Out & About for Social Support with Ms M today & another rescue. Poor little thing was hopping along the bitumen in the middle of the day OUCH!! couldn’t stand watching so we rescued it & relocated it to a more frog friendly environment

14.01.2022 If you are dealing with a chronic illness this free course may be something you want to take a look at. If you’re not sure if you’d be able to participate without support feel free to contact me.

12.01.2022 My Monday post is a bit late today, but I got there in the end. So how is everyone going?

09.01.2022 From all of our MISS Support Team To all of the wonderful people we have worked with, past & present We Wish you a very Merry Christmas! Sue is on call over the holiday season & will continue supports as needed.

08.01.2022 Who doesn’t love pizza? Tonight’s Support service was for respite & these cool kids made their own pizzas for tea. First time I’ve ever experienced chicken nugget pizza

08.01.2022 We all know how challenging navigating shopping centres can be on a quiet day let alone during the holidays but this little lady navigated her way through & self regulated like a boss So after a haircut & some essential shopping we spent some down time at the zoo.

08.01.2022 Monday checkin How is everyone doing today?

07.01.2022 YOUNG MUMS... today at 9am See you there!

07.01.2022 GEN/Y HOUSING REFERRAL & SUPPORT PROGRAM This is Esther & Janine- our housing helpers! - Are you aged between 16-25 years old? ... - Are you couch surfing? - Do you need emergency accommodation? - Do you need support with day to day living? - Do you need a place to call home? If you answered YES to any of the questions above...call us on 07 4922 7236

06.01.2022 Today so far... Support Service on the coast, rescued a little frog made lunch for Ms J & now enjoying a quick break & lunch while watching the waves roll in It’s a beautiful day

05.01.2022 Great to see action is being taken against people misusing funding. Please always try to have systems in place to double check your providers are charging correctly and not taking advantage of you.

04.01.2022 Hi Are you a sole trader looking for more hours? Do you have a min. Cert 3 in Disabilities or equivalent training/experience? Do you pride yourself on person centred care? Would you like to be a part of a supportive team, to build networks & share knowledge? I am a sole trader who has been operating My Independent Support Services for just over two years. I have built my business on word of mouth & have a solid reputation for quality support. Demand has now grown beyond my capacity & I am looking to bring more people into my team. If you are looking please give me a call on 0413344682 or forward enquiries to [email protected]

02.01.2022 https://ablefoods.com.au/

01.01.2022 Local SC’s required.

01.01.2022 DSC (Virtual) Water Cooler conversation Part 1 Do you get the sense that the NDIA is pretty preoccupied with Scheme sustainability of late? It seems to be at t...he centre of everything they do- from SIL reform to Independent Assessments. Not to mention the COVID recession is making everyone feel a little uneasy. At Team DSC we spent the weekend chatting about this, and what it might mean for participants, providers and the human rights approach. And yes, that is a pretty nerdy way to spend your weekend. But really, how better? Our conference director Nic Rogerson had this take on the issue: I think we (disability industry) have to stop twisting ourself around re: sustainability. I mean obviously there needs to be rules, governance and reason to the Scheme - but do you think anybody in Defence or Health industries spend a damn minute thinking of the % of the GDP comes to them. No they don’t. We have to stop feeling like the poor cousin. Our industry hires a f*** tonne of people all working and paying tax. In this post COVID world our industry is needed not dead. What do you think? Is it time to put Scheme sustainability conversations to bed? Or are they important if we are going to guarantee the Scheme’s survival? [Image description: illustration of group of people standing around water cooler]

01.01.2022 Hi Are you a sole trader looking for more hours? Do you have a min. Cert. 3 in disabilities or equivalent training/experience? Do you pride yourself on person centred care? Would you like to be a part of a supportive team, to build networks & share knowledge? I am a sole trader who has been operating My Independent Support Services for just over two years. I have built my business on word of mouth & have a solid reputation for quality support. Demand has now grown beyond my capacity & I am looking to bring more people into my team. If you are looking please give me a call on 0413344682 or forward enquiries to [email protected]