It all started with the fourth piece in our confusion-clearing and myth-busting series about the NDIS: ‘Is it true that self management means hiring all my workers?’ We received great responses to this piece, and asked one commenter, Ellen Fraser-Barbour, to write a guest blog post based on her thoughts and concerns around the new ways people with disability can hire their support workers.

We published her piece ‘Yes we want to hire workers more easily. But let’s also talk safeguards and support’, which then inspired us to seek responses from three new kinds of organisations: Better Caring, Hireup and MySupports.

To recap, the three issues Ellen raised in her blog post are:

Issue 1: How do we show commitment to building trust between people with a disability, families, workers and organisations?

Issue 2: What avenues are there for disclosing issues safely and confidentially if things go wrong between individuals and their workers?

Issue 3: Who is responsible for offering professional development to individuals, their families or their workers as we navigate this new NDIS world?

Why these three organisations? Because they represent the different kinds of options and because they are all interested in people taking greater control of their services and supports and to assisting more people self manage. There are other organisations that provide similar services to those listed above, and we recommend doing your own research before deciding on who can best support you in hiring support staff.

Before you read their responses to Ellen’s issues it’s important to know some of the differences between them. It provides an important framework for their responses.

Hireup is actually an employer. They just help people connect with each other via an online platform as opposed to a physical office.

Better Caring is a an online platform that connects people with disability to self employed people (independent contractors). This means their relationship to people on their platform is a bit different to Hireup.

Lastly, we invited MySupports to respond. They are also an employer. We invited them because of their commitment to employing people with disabilities and family carers, and because of their interest in promoting and developing self directed supports.

We thank Ellen, particularly, for her contribution to this important and growing conversation. We’ve edited the organisations’ responses for length and cohesion, but we’ll provide links to responses these organisations post to their own pages over the coming weeks. As always, if you’d like to add your thoughts, experiences and questions to the conversation, you can leave a comment below or on our Facebook page, or send us an email.

We’ll now hand over to Better Caring, Hireup and My Supports, whose responses are on the following pages.

Better Caring – next page

Hireup – page 3

My Supports – page 4

Well we got some great responses and comments and asked one commentator if she would like to write a Guest Blog to keep the conversation going. Thank you Ellen Fraser-Barbour*! We think you have raised some excellent points to consider around the recruitment of support workers.

We have reached out, and are hoping that our next piece is a response from some organisations discussed in our original piece. That way we can get a really good conversation going.

Over to you, Ellen.

Photo of Ellen Fraser-Barbour

The NDIS market has seen a rise in the range of services offered, from large traditional provider models to smaller in-community neighbourhood team and online connector models. In my experience the NDIS is opening doors to new exciting opportunities and this should be encouraged.  In my experience online models offer simplicity, flexibility, ease of booking, convenience and affordability. In-community support workers working within an agency or team, can offer a degree of support and “back-up” when planning and managing all the ins and outs of what this important work entails.

I have been wondering, however, about how these new types of self management models safeguard. Yes they, alongside all service providers, have policies in place to ensure safety, security and support for individuals, families and workers and these policies are vitally important but I can think of many examples where traditional large agencies are up to the hilt in policy but do necessarily invest in developing an active organisational culture or practice that truly embraces a human rights approach at base level. Policies are there, but putting this into practice seems to be easier said, than done. This has been highlighted in recent inquiries into abuse in disability services.

If questions of accountability and complaints processes were difficult to ask within large traditional service systems prior to the NDIS, it is now an urgent consideration with the NDIS. Bureaucracy is still there and it is still exhausting and ‘messy’ and complex for people with disabilities and their families to navigate. The only difference is that ideally, people with a disability now decide who is worth the stress and who isn’t.

In my experience, the issues of safeguarding are not black and white, like they might seem in policies. I can think of many examples of risky scenarios and ethical dilemmas people find themselves in every day. Life is complicated and there may be times when individuals or families are under immense stress. These stresses vary over time and place. Some situations of crisis are very apparent but others seem more hidden and are not identified until things have already escalated and workers might need to be able to respond in a moment to these situations. Adversity and crisis can take over and informal support networks may disintegrate. In these circumstances, support workers and professionals may be the primary point of contact for support and a vital link. In reality, however, workers may only be employed for short times, may not be not highly skilled and are working for a basic wage with a high turn over rate. There may be times when there’s a crisis beyond the scope of what that worker can deal with. I think there are times when the worker may well decide it’s “too hard” and leave, or alternatively, individuals may question the actions of workers and may well decide to sack. One hears about families who have been through a whole range of workers lasting a very short time. I think this usually suggests that the support networks fail both workers and individuals.

I think this is where Support-Coordinators or case-managers can be useful. If they’re good at their job, they would be “checking in” to see how things are going with individuals and with their support ‘team’. There may also be times when conflicts happen (because we’re human) and NDIS goals slip to the bottom of our priority list. Issues need to be addressed rapidly, calmly and sensitively and this is aided when there is an identified person available and accessible within that person’s network. Support Coordinators can debrief with families and assist with transitioning to new supports or linking to other disability or mainstream services.

At base level, questions need to be asked about safeguards when self-managing support workers. I admit to feeling out of my depth in even trying to pinpoint some specific questions and I worry I’m opening a can of worms, but I will put myself out on a limb here in the hope that some conversation is generated.

Here are a handful of questions I think organisations or self-managing employers could consider.

How do we show commitment to building trust between people with a disability, families, workers and organisations?

Without trust, it is very difficult for anyone to feel safe disclosing concerns. We are human and what is conflicting for one person, may not be for others. I think this is particularly relevant if connecting workers & individuals online without face to face meetings or a “middle man”. Expectations of stakeholders aren’t always made clear.

What avenues are there for disclosing issues safely and confidentially if things go wrong between individuals and their workers?

If support workers are not part of an organisation who do individuals and/or workers negotiate and receive support from, in times of conflict and stress? Being the direct employer is appealing when things are going well. With participants “driving the bus” so to speak, it means issues should be discussed with them first (as it should be). But what happens when there is a crisis and the person with the disability and/or their workers need more support and resources?

In my experience and from what I have heard of others, even in large organisations with strict hierarchical structures, support for individuals and workers is often lacking in times of crisis. With more workers without any back up or organisation, how are stakeholders protected when approaching sensitive concerns and possible conflicts?

Who is responsible for offering professional development to individuals, their families or their workers as we navigate this new NDIS world?

How is training is offered and how frequent is this training? In particular how do self-managed employers and independent employees access professional development to keep abreast development in the field and up to date best practice? How do we standardise training across sectors in light of the NDIS?  In circumstances where agencies are involved, how much time do service providers really have and how often do they touch base with both individuals and workers and offer professional development, training, debriefing or support?

Of course, these are just a handful of questions one could ask – the issues are complex and I don’t think there are silver bullet solutions or quick answers in terms of how we navigate safeguards and dignity of risk. I am, however, an optimist and a believer in generating conversations about where the gaps are.  These conversations need to represent diversity in order to be truly productive. I hope that there are opportunities for the voices of many to be heard.

I also hope that in writing this piece, I might encourage people to share personal experiences and ideas about how we engage, build bridges and offer the best quality supports and continue to work towards progress.

*Disclaimer:   The author wishes to make it clear that this writing does NOT represent the views of organisations she works for – past or present and is merely her own perspective.

NOTE; The majority of concerns are not necessarily about abuse, or violence and are not severe in nature- but there are times when they are and in these circumstances professionals at all levels of services are mandated to formally report any incidences or suspicions of abuse, violence or neglect to their respective statutory bodies such as the Child Abuse Report line (in SA).

Ellen Fraser-Barbour

This is the fourth post  in our confusion-clearing and myth-busting series about the NDIS. Thank you to everyone who’s provided feedback so far – keep it coming!

Here is another myth that has come through to us: People are being told that, if they choose self-management, they have to employ all their workers. Comments are also being made to people that make self-management seem the same as becoming an employer. Again, the implication here is that self-management is really hard work .

This is incorrect.

Yes, self-management offers flexibility in your funding to employ support workers yourself if that’s what you want to do. No, you don’t have to employ support workers yourself if that’s not what you want to do.

We’ve previously written about the practical benefits and current NDIS-related issues with self-managing your NDIS funds. In addition, you can also view information about self-management under the ‘Self-managing budgets in my NDIS plan’ module*.

Sometimes links to areas on the NDIA website don’t work as they should; the 404 error periodically appears when accessing information. If you’re having difficulty reaching any NDIA links we’ve posted in any of our blogs, please let us know. We’ve also contacted the NDIA about this, and we’ll let you know what’s going on when we find out.

Regarding self-management, every worker needs to be legally employed in Australia; they will either be employed by a service provider/you, or they will be self-employed.

There are three ways you can get the support staff you need, and we’ve added another. You’ll also find that the NDIA itself has published information about this, and we’ll point you in that direction as we go.

1)    Employ people yourself (also known as “Direct Employment”)

If you choose this option, you do employ support workers yourself. This means you become an employer – which means you have some legal responsibilities.

Some good places to start looking for information about this are Pearl Staffing Options and My Place.

More information about direct employment from the NDIA can be found at ‘Directly engaging my own staff’. ‘Mind the Gap: Disability Matters’ have also put out a great info sheet about direct employment that breaks the process down into manageable chunks, and explains each step of the direct employment process.

There are benefits to employing people yourself that make this option attractive to many people. One of the benefits is that you could make more savings between the rate that the NDIA pays, and the rate you pay your workers. This is because you don’t have to deal with ‘middle people’ – not because you pay workers less. These savings can mean that more direct support hours are available to you, or you possibly even have the option of hiring someone at a higher rate to do admin tasks (rostering, communicating with staff, organising team meetings, etc). This is just one of the ways that self-management (and plan-management, for that matter) offers more flexibility.

If you have Support Coordination funded in you NDIS Plan, you could also ask them to help you research information, and to link you in with people who have successfully self-managed their own NDIS funding. Alternatively, you may just want to learn more about this option to consider for your future NDIS plans.

InCharge has assisted people whose only experience of support workers was ‘being sent respite workers’ from a local agency. These people have subsequently explored, and taken up, direct employment of their own support staff. This is because we were able to support people through the process by moving through all the available options together, exploring the pros and cons of each, and then linking people in with information and resources.

What we can tell you is that if you do choose direct employment, although it can be daunting at the start, it is easy to maintain once you’ve got it up and going. But if you still don’t want to employ support workers directly, there are other ways you can self-manage your NDIS funds:

2)    Using support workers who are self-employed (also known as ‘independent contractors’)

The NDIA have summed this one up perfectly:

“A contract support worker operates similarly to most gardeners, cleaners and tradespeople, and has their own ABN and insurance and will provide you with an invoice to be paid.”

What you see here are examples of workers who supply their services to more than one client – or have started a small business because they intend to supply services to a number of clients.

When contracting support workers, there are important considerations to take into account. It’s not always straightforward whether a worker is an employee or contractor – just because they have an ABN and charge by the hour, this doesn’t necessarily make them a contractor. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has a great video and easy questionnaire that can help you work out (a) whether your worker is an employee or contractor, and (b) the legal and financial implications of both of these. Pearl Staffing Options QLD also provides some good information around the difference between employees and contractors.

If there’s anything you’re unsure about, it’s best to contact the ATO directly.

Using independent contractors can be a great option as well: The contractor might advertise their fees, and you can decide whether you think these fees are reasonable. Some contractors might be willing to negotiate their fees, and they won’t necessarily charge higher on weekends or of a nighttime.

One of the reasons people choose this option is because, like direct employment, there is no ‘middle person/organisation’ between you and the support worker – which means that you can potentially make savings on your funding with this option as well.

3)    Through a support provider of your choice

Of course, you may still be able to find support workers through a service provider who has support workers ‘on their books’. In this case, the service provider is their employer.

The NDIA has said that:

“You can use any service provider you want to use. If a service provider or agency you want to use is registered with the NDIA, you can still self-manage your NDIS Budget and use their services.

In this instance, the registered service provider will provide you with an invoice to be paid rather than accessing your funds directly through the NDIS Portal.”

As with each option, this option has its pros and cons. The obvious advantage is that the support provider would take care of all the legal responsibilities of employment. In addition, they may also have a ready pool of support workers – and some providers may also be okay with employing people you find.

There are also new kinds of providers that also promote peer to peer connection.

The cons of this option are that, under the NDIS, the provider might claim the full NDIS payment rate from your NDIS Plan. This may mean you don’t make the savings we mentioned in the first two options that might enable you to get more support hours, etc. This may or may not be important to you. The provider may also have rules around using their workers – even ones you find – so it’s important that you have and understand a service agreement with said provider.

Finally, we wanted to touch on some of the new, online ways people are finding their support workers.

4)    Connecting, searching and finding support workers online

Our fourth option is really to help you to understand some of the new, online platforms being developed. You can use any of these platforms when you self-manage your NDIS funds. New online platforms give you a pool of potential workers to look at and engage with, and these workers can be employed in the ways we’ve talked about in this post.

Newer online organisations such as HireUp (an employer) and Better Caring (a platform that connects you with self-employed workers) are essentially the Gumtree of disability services: People with disability and support workers can sign up, provide their details and effectively cut out the ‘middle man’ when choosing their own staff.

These are by no means the only choices. A quick online search comes up with other options as well, and we always encourage people to research and decide on what is a right fit for them.

There are also state-specific as well as national Facebook groups set up and run by peers for the same purpose, such as Australian People with Disabilities and Support Workers Connections and WA Families and Disability Support Workers Network.

Online organisations give people the flexibility of choosing their own staff while the organisation provides administrative support; whereas peer-run groups give people the opportunity to meet and hire people at a grassroots level. There are also groups of people who get together to share information about how and where to find good support – this is called Peer Support to Buy Support. Two organisations we’re aware of are VALID (Victoria) and CDAH (Newcastle, NSW). Again, we encourage you to do your own research and make the best decision for you.

SUMMARY: You can employ all your support workers yourself, but you don’t have to. There are three ways the NDIA suggests you can find staff, and we’ve suggested an extra way. You might also want a mix of employees and contractors.

What all this means is that, when you self-manage your funds, there are many ways you can get support while maximising your freedom.

Photo of Carolyn Campbell McLean

Carolyn Campbell-McLean is  Senior Facilitator with My Choice Matters, NSW. For 13 years she has used the Attendant Care Program and has self-managed her support for 6 years. This involves managing a team of 7 people who provide her and her partner with daily support. Carolyn believes she has really honed her skills in choosing appropriate people.

Don’t miss her 8 Hot Tips on creating and keeping your dream team!

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