Inclusion Support
Nillumbik Shire Council is a member of a consortium (with Whittlesea and Hume Councils) to provide inclusion support to eligible child care centres. Our Inclusion Support Facilitator promotes and supports the inclusion of children with additional needs into commonwealth funded programs such as long day care, vacation care, outside school hours care, occasional care and family day care.
The role of the Inclusion Support Facilitator is to:
- Facilitate active participation of all children
- Provide direct support and consultation around inclusive practices
- Assist child care staff to identify their training needs
- Assist services to link with relevant community groups, services and organisations
- Assist services to access funding through the Inclusion Support Subsidy (ISS) or Flexible Support Funding (FSF).
Eligible services can access the support of the Inclusion Support Facilitator for children who are experiencing difficulty in the program, children who are undergoing assessment or who have a diagnosed physical, sensory, neurological, intellectual or developmental delay or children from Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, South Seas Islander or culturally and linguistically diverse background.Services will be asked to complete a Children’s Services Support Request Form. You can download a copy of the form from the link at the bottom of this page and send it to the Inclusion Support Officer via the methods detailed in the form. The Inclusion Support Facilitator is only able to directly support a child within a service with parent / guardian permission.
For more information contact our Inclusion
Support Facilitator, Anne Brooks, on 9433 3145 or email
Anne.
Access for All Abilities
Council’s Access for All Abilities Officer can support you in discussions with clubs and groups that you would like to join. Sometimes community recreation providers may not have thought specifically about the needs of people with a disability. The Access for All Abilities Officer supports the local club, service or group to plan and implement strategies which ensure their activities are inclusive of everyone.
Community recreation includes sporting clubs and associations, leisure centres, neighbourhood houses and living and learning centres, stadiums, community centres, halls, parks and gardens, recreation trails and festivals and community events.
For more information contact the Access for All Abilities Officer on 9433 3136 or go to Council's website.
Social connections
Nillumbik Shire Council, in partnership with Living & Learning Nillumbik offer a recreation program for young adults aged 16-26 with a disability called Social Connections. The program provides participants with an opportunity to create friendships and access various activities within the local community.
For more information contact Dawn McDonnell at Living & Learning Nillumbik – Diamond Creek on 9438 5411 or email Dawn.
Home and Community Care
Council’s Home and Community care program can help to support frail older people and some individuals with permanent disabilities (and their carers) with home care, personal care, respite and home maintenance.Access to services is based on assessed need. An assessment occurs in the home and involves discussing the support needs and type of services and supports available. All services are means tested, so the cost will vary depending on the household income.
For more information contact the Aged and Disability Services Intake Officer on 9433 3138 or go to Council’s website.
RECHARGE scheme
In Nillumbik, an increasing number of people with restricted mobility are finding an electric scooter or wheelchair to be a valuable means of transportation. Negotiating the steep roads and footpaths however means that batteries run low more quickly and deter people from travelling longer distances.The RECHARGE scheme encourages local businesses to provide a power point so that people within Nillumbik can recharge the battery on their electric wheelchair or scooter, if required. RECHARGE stickers are displayed on the windows of participating businesses so they can be easily found. There are also RECHARGE stickers placed above / near power points to identify which power point has been designated for use.
RECHARGE is a MetroAccess initiative. This initiative was first developed in the Shire of Nillumbik and is proudly supported by VicRoads, Department of Human Services and Mobility Aids Australia Pty Ltd.
For more information contact Angela Lampard, MetroAccess and Inlcusion Coordinator, on 9433 3???, email Angela or go to the RECHARGE website.
Disabled parking permits
A statewide Disabled Persons’ Parking Scheme operates in Victoria. There are two categories with varying parking concessions, based on the applicants need for assistance.Under category one, permit holders with significant intellectual or ambulatory disabilities (who meet the eligibility criteria) are entitled to park a vehicle in a bay reserved for disabled motorists only or may park a vehicle in any ordinary area or baby for twice the specified time. Under category two permit holders who require rest breaks when walking may park a vehicle in any ordinary area or bay for twice the specified time but are not permitted to park in bay reserved for disabled motorists.
Permits can be provided for a driver/passenger who has a disability, for an organisation providing a transport service for people with a disability or for temporary timeframes (disability for more than six months).
If you think you may be eligible for a disabled parking permit contact Council’s Municipal Laws section on 9433 3231 or go to Council’s website for more information and to download an application form.
