[Sub ID 4636] Coordinated support for NDIS carers (Department of Social Services)

Note: This idea will be subject to co-development and funding eligibility outlined in section 5 of the Handbook.

Submission ID: 4636
Organisation name: Department of Social Services

Which priority group of the Try, Test and Learn Fund does your idea support?
Young carers

What need or issue are you trying to address?
The roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides an opportunity to work with young carers at a time when their caring role may be changing. This initiative will test whether the NDIS combined with the right support services can facilitate young carers transitioning from their caring role into employment or retaining them in education. The issue is the lack of coordinated employment and carer support services to assist young carers on Carer Payment in NDIS trial sites. Currently, there isn’t a coordinated carer support system that can facilitate young carers’ transition from their caring role to employment or retain them in education. As the care recipients of the young carer, enter the NDIS, young carers will likely have improved capacity to engage in either employment or education. This change of circumstances is an ideal opportunity to intervene with targeted support to facilitate educational or workforce engagement.

What is your idea?
This proposal involves selected employment service providers working with Carer Payment recipients aged under 25 years,who are caring for people eligible for support through the NDIS. Employment providers will provide intensive support to link the young carer with appropriate education and/or employment support, coordinate priority access to a range of relevant carer support services and provide additional, new support, such as coaching. The first step would be to identify and address barriers the young carer may be experiencing with work and/or study, to stream the target cohort of young carers through employment services and coordinate priority access to existing programs and support including appropriate carer support services available locally. In addition, the young carers would be offered six weeks of carer coaching, to assist the carer with strategies to achieve their goals and objectives to enable them to ultimately participate socially, educationally, and financially (where applicable) in the same way as their non-caring peers.

The combination and coordination of intensive employment and educational support with carer support services and coaching at a critical time of change in the caring role will ensure young carers will be equipped with the skills and support to transition to employment or continue their education.