On 1 July 2022, we joined with Zest Care, a New South Wales, Queensland and Victorian provider of person-centred services for people with disabilities, children and their families to better serve the interests of the people we support. Together we have expanded our service offering to improve the quality of life for our customers and created a larger more sustainable in-home service while maintaining individualised services, flexibility, choice and control.

We were also excited to announce Independence Australia’s merger with Statewide Autistic Services (SASI), a specialist Victorian provider of education and community-based supports for people with autism. The merger which took effect on 1 July 2023, represents a significant milestone to make a greater difference in the lives of those we serve. By combining resources, expertise and partnerships we are able to provide a stronger and more effective platform to support our customers and their networks.

Today we are one organisation with a clear focus on our core purpose to provide choices for people living with a disability or other personal need, enabling them to regain and retain their independence within an inclusive community. We remain committed to the provision of quality, safe, customer focused supports through our three services arms – Independence Australia Services Victoria, Zest Care and SASI.

Specialist Community Supports & Accommodation Options

Independence Australia provides specialist community-based supports and accommodation options for people with a diverse range of support needs. This year our team of 600+ qualified support workers provided hundreds of thousands of hours of supports across our in-home and community, complex care, supported independent living and shared supported accommodation programs.

Our specialist complex care team continued to work closely with customers and their representatives to plan and deliver complex physical care and behavioural supports tailored to meet individual needs. Positive outcomes achieved through the program include reductions in service levels required, increased engagement in daily living and community activities, improved functional capacity and greater independence.

With the anticipated release of new specialist disability accommodation stock across Victoria, we extended the delivery of flexible supports through our Supported Independent Living & Specialist Disability Accommodation Provider Partnership Program. Working in collaboration with our network of specialist providers, we continued to provide a shared solution for participants accessing specialist disability accommodation. Our flexible model of support allows our customers to utilise their existing roster of specialist supports while accessing onsite concierge services for back up emergency assistance in their new supported accommodation setting as required. Using this shared approach, we are able to provide a better codesign program that maximises choice and control.

Our metropolitan Melbourne shared supported accommodation properties maintained an occupancy rate over 95%. As a result of the coordinated efforts, data collection and reporting in our complex care and supported independent living service teams, every supported independent living customer supported by Independence Australia either increased or retained their funding in their annual NDIS plan review, ensuring that their needs continued to be met to attain their goals.

Acceptance of our digital reporting platform used to capture customer feedback and provide staff real-time access to customer support information continued to grow across our shared supported accommodation sites and in the homes of Victorian customers receiving supported independent living supports. These real time reports with multiple data options are fast becoming a vital tool to facilitate service planning and reporting.

In response to an increase in new supported independent living and complex care referrals, both Services Victoria and Zest Care undertook a restructure to increase capacity, capability and ensure the delivery of quality services to support future growth through the implementation of new quality initiatives, competency based clinically directed training and on-the job support provided to our staff.

Psychology and Counselling Services

When it was first established in 2001, our psychology service was the first of its kind in Victoria. Today we remain one of only a handful of organisations offering disability specific counselling and psychological services. Our specialty is working with people with a spinal cord injury or who have had polio, but we also offer counselling and psychological assistance to people dealing with any form of disability.

This year our counselling service provided vital one-to-one supports to over 380 people, helping them to address a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, and adjustments to living with a disability. Programs included 26 Support Groups and Health & Wellbeing workshops including mindfulness, pain management and restorative sleep while living with a disability.

Family Services

Zest Care family services works in collaboration with government child protection agencies, funded service providers and insurance and workers compensation agencies to make a difference in the lives of children, young people and their families. Each of the families we support is unique and we work with our referring partners to support each family’s specific needs and goals.

This year we delivered tens of thousands of hours of tailored in-home family supports, alternative care arrangements, supervised contact, respite, mentoring, and restoration to support our customers to reach their goals. With a focus on continuous improvement, quality services and improved outcomes for the people we support, a self-assessment was completed for the Office of the Children’s Guardian which helped us to identify new strategies to better support our staff.

This led to the development of our public child safe statement which reflects our framework for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the children and young people we support. Stronger risk assessment practices were implemented to assess and manage risk to support an increase in complex needs and higher referrals received, and the new New South Wales Child Safety Standards were implemented to meet the obligations of a New South Wales Child Safe Organisation.

Events

Education Days increased to 12 this year. A must for networking and professional development, health professionals and nurses connected with suppliers and industry experts to upskill their product and clinical knowledge.

Mobility Aids Australia (MAA)

Our mobility aids and equipment business Mobility Aids Australia is a leading supplier of rehabilitation and healthcare equipment in Victoria. The showroom in Springvale is stocked with the best in power scooters, lift chairs, wheelchairs, and other aids, to make it easy for customers to see and test the different options in person. The business has built a strong presence in the market via word-of-mouth recommendations and excellent reviews. The team is known for going above and beyond to support our customers, especially with after sales service. A passion for solving customer problems, while offering empathy and understanding has built a loyal customer base.

National Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) Dressing Scheme

As a leading provider of wound care products, we continue to manage the National Epidermolysis Bullosa Dressing Scheme (NEBDS) in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Independence Australia is responsible for administering the Scheme and improving education on optimum dressing use for healthcare professionals and people with EB on behalf of the Department. We also have a dedicated EB customer support team to help people with EB, offering expert advice to ensure people have the best products to meet their needs.