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Help save quality disability services in Victoria HACSU MEMBER CAMPAIGNING KIT The campaign against privatisation of public disability services The campaign so far... How can we win a This is where we are up to, but we still have a long way to go • Launched our marginal seats campaign against the • We have been participating in the NDIS Taskforce, Andrews Government. This includes 45,000 targeted active in the Taskforce subcommittees in relation to phone calls to three of Victoria’s most marginal seats the future workforce, working on issues of innovation quality NDIS? (Frankston, Carrum and Bentleigh). and training and building support against contracting out. HACSU is campaigning to save public disability services after the Andrews Labor • Staged a pre-Christmas statewide protest in Melbourne; an event that received widespread media • We are strongly advocating for detailed workforce Government’s announcement that it will privatise disability services. There’s been a wide attention. research that looks at the key issues of workforce range of campaign activities, and we’ve attracted the Government’s attention. retention and attraction, and the impact contracting • Set up a public petition; check it out via out would have on retention. However, to win this campaign, and maintain quality disability services for Victorians, dontdisposeofdisability.org, don’t forget to make sure your colleagues sign! • We have put forward an important disability service we have to sustain the grassroots union campaign. This means, every member has to quality policy, which is about the need for ongoing contribute. • HACSU is working hard to contact families, friends and recognition of disability work as a profession, like guardians of people with disabilities to further build nursing and teaching, and the introduction of new We need to be taking collective and individual actions. Every member needs to step up campaign momentum in the community. statewide Registration and Accreditation System. We want Victoria to lead the way in quality services and take individual action. There are thousands of HACSU DHHS DAS members. A single • Held a large-scale protest and community information through the NDIS rollout. action by every member will cause a tidal wave of action, which will build leverage and event at the railway station outside of Parliament allow the union to run a stronger campaign. House that reached thousands of people. • Handed out campaign flyers at train stations across Melbourne, including in the CBD and in marginal seats. • Held a public protest rally in Bendigo at the office of This campaign kit gives you the information you need to take this local MP, Jacinta Allan, who supported public disability • Held a major protest through the city and on the steps action and play your role. services pre-election. of parliament in the days before the state budget was handed down. • Keeping the lines of communication open with the government, strongly promoting our arguments. • Working with the ACTU and other unions to campaign for increased NDIS pricing. IT IS NOW TIME TO RAMP UP ACTION AND GET ALL HACSU MEMBERS FROM PUBLIC DISABILITY SERVICES INVOLVED! what we are campaigning for • A choice of quality services for people with disabilities. • Better training and recognition of qualifications career structures - in order to attract 45,000 visited mPs protested calls made as part of the at parliament to talk about at parliament and Premier and retrain quality staff. marginal seat campaign quality disability services Daniel Andrews’ office • A secure, skilled well paid and stable workforce. • A quality NDIS! WITHOUT ACTION, THERE IS NO STRENGTH! Campaign resources are available at www.dontdisposeofdisability.org 1 be a part of something bigger the most important thing any union member can do to make a difference is to build union strength want to recruit your join the campaign but colleagues not sure what to do or how to join hacsu to do it? as the disability sector faces major reform now is the time to stand together This campaign kit gives you all the information you need to your EBA PI insurance representation make a difference SIGN UP 5 NEW HACSU MEMBERS AND RECEIVE Make sure you follow HACSU on facebook at A $100 COLES MYER GIFT CARD! * Make sure you are nominated as the sponsor on the membership form! Please check www.facebook.com/hacsu and check out with the HACSU office for full terms and conditions. www.dontdisposeofdisability.org to stay up to date with campaign information, events and resources! p 2 4 Over 2,550 people with profound disabilities cutting choices across the state in public 1 accommodation and costs key facts living in over 500 group homes and other centres Instead of delivering on their promise, the Andrews Government has now put in place a about the privatisation of public disability services more than 5,400 public process seeking to privatise DHHS disability Here are some crucial facts you need to know in making the case to your disability support services. workmates, families, guardians and local MPs. There is absolutely no doubt this decision by workers government will cut important service choices 2 who support people with disabilities everyday for people with disabilities and undermine the quality of care for vulnerable people. WHO IS GOING TO BE MOST AFFECTED? disability services. There is great concern about the current status of the Quality and Safeguarding In particular, this decision risks disrupting At present, the DHHS provides services to over 2,550 Framework, with pressure from the Commonwealth the continuity of care for clients and adds people with profound disabilities living in 506 group to minimise any strong regulation of providers or CUTTING CHOICE AND COSTS unnecessary confusion and uncertainty to an homes across the state. Over 5,400 staff support workers. This is despite the clear need for robust for people who live in public disability already complex NDIS rollout. safeguards that have been demonstrated by multiple accommodation services , and those who these residents in these groups homes or in client Parents, guardians and workers are extremely State and Commonwealth Inquiries into violence, receive support from DHHS case management, services. concerned about being forced into the non- abuse and neglect in disability services, with vocal who will lose the choice to stay in public services 3 government sector, which, for decades, criticism of the current regulatory frameworks and THE NDIS AND quality safeguards has been chronically underfunded and is dozens of recommendations for reform. So far, no Underpinning all this is the fact that there are no characterised by lower levels of training and recommendations have been implemented. no national quality standards to ensure NDIS participants receive high levels of workforce casualisation. In this context, the Government’s decision to high-quality, safe supports, the NDIA’s Quality safeguards These concerns are made all the more potent implement a statewide privatisation process of DHHS and Safeguarding Framework. This is in addition The NDIS quality safeguarding framework has given they are occurring in an industry where services to the non-government sector is a scandal. to a backdrop of several inquiries into abuse in still not been finalised! people have high support needs, and continuity 4 of care is absolutely critical. If DHHS workers were to transfer to the private sector, they would face pay cuts of up to 30% a core broken promise and a major loss of conditions. THE privatisation PROCESS At present there is: • No guarantee potential providers can deliver Prior to the 2014 Victorian State Election the A survey of over 950 DHHS disability workers Victorian Labor Government went to the people services to people with complex needs. conducted by HACSU in July 2016 showed the The decision to privatise public disability services of Victoria with the following policy regarding following results: has been undertaken with no assessment of the risks • No measures against which potential providers DHHS disability services; and no idea as to how to implement the decision. can be tested. 5 Over half of the surveyed respondents said • No identification of what constitutes appropriate • That Labor in government must retain they would leave the sector if their wages The initial “market sounding” process involves quality systems and governance processes for involvement in direct services delivery as and conditions were affected as a result of talking to for-profit and not-for-profit disability potential providers. service provider, and, privatisation / contracting out. service providers to assess their capacity to absorb • No timeframe for the contracting out process. DHHS services. But there are no criteria defining • On top of this, research produced by the non- • To support the existing balanced service • Of workers who have direct experience what a “suitable” service provider looks like. government employer peak-body shows that system between direct government and non- of working in both the public and private NGO providers are in no way ready to absorb government “not for profit” service provision disability sector, over 70% believe that and avoid further privatisation or contracting- public disability services, with: privatisation / contracting out of public out of existing disability services. sector disability will have a negative impact for disability services and will not promote On 1 December 2015 these commitments were 80% 78% 55% 54% broken. the NDIS principles of choice and control. The loss of these staff will be catastrophic not ready to manage NDIS not prepared for the not ready for NDIS not ready on quality costing and pricing workforce growth being risk management and management and for the quality and continuity of care, and brought forward by the compliance continuous improvement it will come at the same time the Victorian NDIS Government is predicting a need for the doubling of the workforce to meet increased demand for services under the NDIS.

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