Family and Community Services Disability Services Joint Consultative Committee meeting 28 February 2019
Family and Community Services Disability Services JCC meeting – March 2019 (pdf version)
PSA delegates and Industrial Officer met FACS Disability Services Management on 28 February 2019 at the regular JCC meeting. The Executive Director briefed the PSA on the remaining Disability Services transfer proposals. The PSA raised a number of related issues around workload, staff morale, ongoing consultation and proposed change management plans for pending Services Transfers.
- Hunter Residences – Stockton, Tomaree and Kanangra
PSA members had been advised that transfer of services at the Hunter residences were anticipated to commence around April 2019.
FACS advised the PSA there will be three providers resulting in the transfer of staff and clients in allocations of three groupings to these organisations.
The new service providers are:
- New Horizons – New Horizons supports more than 4,000 customers across more than 200 communities.
- Cerebral Palsy Alliance – Cerebral Palsy Alliance is a major provider of disability services across 112 sites in NSW and the ACT with more than 6,000 clients with complex disabilities.
- The Disability Trust – The Disability Trust provides a wide range of services to people with disabilities and have more than 1,600 staff providing care for over 4,000 clients.
- SIL providers will have responsibility for the daily living arrangements for all residents in the new homes which are being built by Home4Life. Construction of the first homes is scheduled to be complete in July 2019 and the process for preparing clients will progress carefully until they are fully ready to move.
- FACS, Home4Life and the service providers will commence consulting and working with clients and their families on the detailed plans for their transition to their new home.
Clients will transfer to the care of these service providers as they move into their new homes. This will mean staff and clients will move at the same time.
This information was emailed to affected staff on the 1 March 2019.
FACS has committed to ongoing consultation with the PSA and other unions. The Executive Director anticipates visiting the Hunter Residences in April 2019 following the NSW election to brief staff. A draft change management plan should be available to commence consultation around staff issues at this time.
- FACS Community Justice Program
Following 13 December 2018, staff transfers to Disability Services Australia, a meeting of PSA members occurred at Parramatta CJP office to deal with member concerns around:
- future operation of teams
- 25 staff remain for 40 positions across the unit some of which are vacant
- acting opportunities for remaining staff
- what programmes will operate
- workloads, ongoing job security.
The PSA wrote to FACS on 23 January 2019 outlining request for urgent consultation and concerns of members. FACS responded on the 4 February 2019. This information was passed on to delegates and members.
The PSA again raised these issues at the 28 February JCC meeting. The current program is responsible for 81 clients subject to the Disability Inclusion Act, and a number subject to the Mental Health review tribunal. The PSA indicated members’ concerns around vacant roles, workloads, requests to staff to do work outside of their role expertise, temporary employees contract’s and the ongoing Operations manual development.
The PSA advised FACS its members should work to current role statements and cannot be expected to do work outside of their existing role expertise. If necessary FACS should engage additional staff to address workload issues. FACS have committed to ongoing consultation with PSA members around all of these issues. Post the March election, the PSA expects FACS to provide advice on a more stable draft operational plan for the CJP teams.
- Casuarina Grove
PSA and members were advised in November 2018 that Casuarina Grove Specialist Services would be put out to tender for transfer in early 2019. Staff were issued with the NDIS transfer fact sheet and briefed by management. The PSA was advised that the recent tender process had not resulted in a new service provider and as a result FACS will continue to operate Casuarina Grove. The transfer process is now on hold until the next government can advise FACS of its future intentions.
Across these FACS Disability Services workplaces PSA members have raised issues regarding workloads, morale, future Service provision to clients and the pending transfer of staff and their ongoing Industrial entitlements
FACS has committed to consult the PSA regarding all of these concerns for member’s Industrial issues. The Disability Services Transfer process is paused until the next government has been established.
If members have any concerns please call or email the PSA member support centre
1300 772 679 or
PSA delegates on site: –
Darrin Morgan – Hunter Residences Stockton
Sharon May – Hunter Residences Stockton
Rex Wylie – Casuarina Residences
Heihana Henare – CJP Program Parramatta
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