Department of health and ageing annual report 2002-03
COMMONWEALTH DISABILITY STRATEGY
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- Policy Advisor role
- Regulato0072 role
- Employer role
- Performance Indicator: Agency recruiters and managers apply the principle of ‘reasonable adjustment’.
- Performance Indicator: Training and development programs consider the needs of staff with disabilities.
- Provider role
- Purchaser role
COMMONWEALTH DISABILITY STRATEGYThe Commonwealth Disability Strategy helps Australian Government organisations respond to the needs of people with disabilities, and assists those agencies to report on their related activities and achievements. The Department takes on a number of roles relevant to the needs of people with a disability—as a policy advisor, a regulator, an employer, a service provider and a purchaser of goods and services. The Department’s performance in these roles, against a series of indicators, is reported below. Policy Advisor rolePerformance Indicator: New or revised policy/program proposals assess impact on the lives of people with disabilities prior to decision.The Department’s policy and program development is embedded in the wider philosophy of improving health outcomes for all Australians; thus the impact of proposed initiatives on all stakeholders, including people with disabilities, must be considered. For example, the Aged Care Innovative Pool for 2002-03 included a new category of services for people with disabilities and aged care needs. This was developed in response to concerns that people with disabilities may be inappropriately placed in, or be at risk of being placed in residential aged care when their needs could be better met through alternative services.
Performance Indicator: People with disabilities are included in consultations about new or revised policy/program proposals.Direct consultation with people with disabilities when developing policy is a key step in considering their needs. The Department consulted disability groups on a number of initiatives, such as National Health Priority Areas and the 2002 reviews of National HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C strategies. Consumer bodies represented on the Aged Care Advisory Committee also include people with disabilities among their members. Performance Indicator: Public announcements of new, revised, or proposed policy/program initiatives are available in accessible formats for people with disabilities in a timely manner.New campaigns aim to reach as many members of their target audience as is possible. A number of alternative means of communication are used to achieve this to ensure people with varying abilities are included. For example, the public announcement of the proposed Fairer Medicare package in April 2002 was accompanied by the release of information in a number of formats appropriate to people with disabilities. Audio material was made available both on tape and on the Department’s website for people with vision impairments, and information was provided in ‘easy English’ for people with a mild intellectual disability. This material was available within two weeks of the announcement. For documents such as the Annual Report, the Department can provide information in alternative formats on request, and provides contact information for people who wish to make a request.
Performance Indicator: Publicly available information on regulations, quasi-regulations and regulatory compliance reporting is available in accessible formats for people with disabilities.The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has primary responsibility in the Department for providing information on the regulation of therapeutic goods. The TGA provides a Freecall™ information line where individuals can request publicly available documents. A separate Freecall™ Teletype (TTY) information line and an email address are also available for the same purpose. During 2002-03, the TGA responded to 3,560 requests for information from individuals or companies, compared with 2,530 requests in 2001-02. None of the requests for these documents required information to be provided in accessible formats (electronic or otherwise).
Performance Indicator: Employment policies, procedures and practices comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.Consistent with previous years, the Department ensures that its employment policies and programs comply with the principles of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, through mechanisms such as guidelines on workplace harassment and the orientation program for new recruits. CRS Australia139 incorporates the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 in its employment policies, procedures and guidelines. Performance Indicator: Recruitment information for potential job applicants is available in accessible formats on request.The Department’s recruitment information is provided both in electronic format (through the internet or via email), and in hard copy. A proportion of vacancies appears in the Australian press. A TTY telephone service is also available for hearing impaired applicants. Access to electronic formats is immediate when accessed via the internet; email replies are sent within 24 hours. Hard copies of documentation are sent within 24 hours. CRS Australia provides an applicant kit on how to apply, and details of the position and organisation. These are available in electronic format via CRS Australia’s website, by email or by printed packs sent by post. On request, all information can be provided in plain text or HTML formats. Electronic formats are made available within 12 working hours. Hard copies are provided the next working day to applicants in capital cities, and in two to three working days for country applicants. Performance Indicator: Agency recruiters and managers apply the principle of ‘reasonable adjustment’.The Department’s ‘Personal Particulars’ form for job applications asks applicants to identify whether they need any special requirements for interview. Information on reasonable adjustment is provided on request, or as a result of a pre- engagement medical assessment. This information is provided by either business managers or the Health Management Unit. Guidelines are also available to all staff on the Department’s Intranet site. CRS Australia is an expert agency in placing people with disabilities in workplaces. All managers are aware of reasonable adjustment.
Specific needs are accommodated in all training programs. CRS’s delivery of learning and development programs include provisions for the needs of participants with disabilities.
Performance Indicator: Training and development programs include information on disability issues as they relate to the content of the program.Information on disability issues is included in the Department’s training and development programs where applicable; for example, in staff orientation programs. Due to the nature of CRS Australia’s core business, disability awareness is fundamental to delivery of services and is part of CRS’s training and development programs. Performance Indicator: Complaints/grievance mechanism, including access to external mechanisms, in place to address issues and concerns raised by staff.The Department has an established process to address staff complaints and grievances through the ‘Fair Treatment and Review of Actions’ policy, which includes access to external mechanisms as appropriate. CRS Australia has established policies and procedures for complaints handling, which include access to external mechanisms. Information and advice on the complaints/grievance process is provided to all employees through the certified agreement, intranet and during induction. Provider rolePerformance Indicator: Providers have established mechanisms for quality improvement and assuranceCRS Australia is required to meet the Disability Service Standards in order to achieve FaCS quality certification. Furthermore, service standards guide the delivery of quality service to clients and customers. CRS Australia has an internal Quality Assurance Improvement Program that ensures the highest standard of service is provided to clients with disabilities. CRS Australia evaluates current quality in service delivery through: the independent FaCS certification process; analysis of both client and customer feedback; and quality assurance and improvement reviews. These mechanisms measure and assure quality to clients and customers and inform organisational planning, learning and development strategies, and continuous improvement of work process.
Performance Indicator: Providers have an established service charter that specifies the roles of the provider and consumer and service standards which address accessibility for people with disabilities.CRS Australia’s Service Charter specifies the role of CRS and the consumer and identifies our performance standards. The Charter is provided to clients at the commencement of their program and is also available on CRS Australia’s website, which is W3C compliant for accessibility. Appropriate assistance is arranged where the client may have difficulties in understanding the service charter, for example where a client requires an Auslan interpreter. CRS Australia’s Service Charter is currently being updated. Performance against the Service Charter is monitored and informs continuous improvement activities.
Performance Indicator: Complaints/grievance mechanisms, including access to external mechanisms, in place to address concerns raised about performance.CRS Australia has a comprehensive complaints/grievance mechanism which permits access to internal and external mechanisms such as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. CRS Australia actively seeks feedback from clients and customers, and uses the information to inform service delivery. CRS Australia staff are trained in receiving and handling client feedback through induction programs and other training opportunities.
Performance Indicator: Publicly available information on agreed purchasing specifications is available in accessible formats for people with disabilities.Publicly available purchasing specifications are generally part of open request for tender (RFT) documents, which are available in printed format or (often) electronically through the Department’s internet tender page. All RFTs have details of a contact officer who can provide information in other accessible formats. Performance Indicator: Processes for purchasing goods or services with a direct impact on the lives of people with disabilities are developed in consultation with people with disabilities.Consideration of the concerns and interests of stakeholders when developing purchasing specifications is a requirement of the Department’s procurement plan template. This consideration includes people with disabilities, if appropriate. However, it is uncommon for such goods and services to be purchased by this Department. All client-related CRS Australia purchasing processes include full consultation and assessment with people with disabilities and/or their representatives. Performance Indicator: Purchasing specifications and contract requirements for the purchase of goods or services are consistent with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.The Department’s procedural rules require purchasing officials to consider including references to specific legislation, as appropriate, in specifications and contract documents. Present and former versions of the long form Departmental contracts for services and consultancy contracts each contain provisions in which the contractor agrees to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The short form versions of standard contracts140 do not contain a provision that mentions the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 or that a contractor must comply with this Act. The extent that the Department uses these contracts, unamended, is not measured. CRS Australia includes an explicit clause in all requests for tender, standard and non-standard contracts specifying that contractors must comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Performance Indicator: Publicly available performance reporting against the purchase contract specifications, requested in accessible formats for people with disabilities, is provided.All business opportunities (tenders) and grant/funding invitations are displayed on the Department’s internet site in accordance with Departmental policy. All such published materials meet Departmental standards for accessibility. Some of this information may be available only in electronic form unless specifically requested in printed form. For example, detailed information for applicants for allocation of aged care places and related approvals under the annual Aged Care Approvals Round is provided through the internet site. Performance Indicator: Complaints/grievance mechanisms, including access to external mechanisms, in place to address concerns raised about the providers’ performance.The Department has processes in place to deal with complaints and grievances about providers’ performance. For example, the Aged Care Complaints Resolution scheme, overseen by an external Commissioner for Complaints, provides complaints access to all consumers of Australian Government funded aged care. Advocacy services in each State and Territory help assist clients to understand their rights or make complaints and may contact service providers on a client’s behalf. CRS Australia deals with complaints regarding service providers in accordance with its service charter. Where CRS Australia purchases services for its clients, feedback on provider performance is sought from the client. Contracts between CRS Australia and service providers identify complaints-handling mechanisms and the roles and responsibilities of the service providers. This appendix recognises the Department’s reporting obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The Department acknowledges the guidance of the Office of Disability (part of the Family and Community Services portfolio) in preparing this information. Directory: sites -> default -> files files -> Answer True False 2 points Question 2 files -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations files -> Nstructions for Acquiring Excess Equipment online, through the 1033 Program files -> Occupational health and safety files -> The Black Panther Party’s Ten Point Program files -> International programs roel profile files -> Fermi Questions a guide for Teachers, Students, and Event Supervisors Lloyd Abrams, Ph. D. DuPont Company, cr&D/ccas experimental Station Wilmington, de 19880 files -> Personal Information Name: Maha Al-Ammari Nationality: Saudi Relationship Status Download 1.71 Mb. Share with your friends:
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