Important Changes Coming
From the 1st March 2010 the Australian Government's disability employment services are changing. Work Venture will be known as a Disability Employment Service provider. Under Disability Employment Services, all eligible job seekers with disability, injury or health condition will be able to receive assistance from an employment service provider to prepare for, find and keep a job. There are no waiting lists so those eligible will receive the right assistance as early as possible. There will be more focus on education, training and skills development to increase the chances of getting and staying in a job.
Existing clients of Work Venture will be informed of the changes in a letter that will be sent to them by the Australian Government. Existing clients of Work Venture will continue to receive assistance and support from Work Venture to find and remain in employment.
Under Disability Employment Services you may be able to choose to be assisted by an organisation that has particular expertise in helping people with specific needs. For example, some providers may assist people with vision impairment or mental health condition or indigenous people.
Disability Employment Services providers will provide a mix of services to address both job related and more personal concerns. The new Disability Employment Services aim to achieve jobs that last.
Disability Employment Services include two seperate programs which provide assistance to:
- people with disability, injury or health condition who need the assistance of Disability Employment Services and who might need irregular or occasional support to keep a job.
- people with permanent disability and who require regular, ongoing support to keep a job.
You can find out more informationabout Disability Employment Services by visiting www.deewr.gov.au/DES or calling1800 805 260. Charges may apply for calls from mobile phones.
Disability Service Standards Audit Success
 On October 13th, 2009 two repesentatives of BSi Management Systems arrived in our offices to conduct an independant audit of Work Venture to see how well we operate in relation to the 12 Disability Services Standards. They remained at our offices for four days to examine all aspects of our organisation. They examined the files of those of our clients who gave permission and interviewed a number of our clients who had volunteered to contribute to the audit process. Staff members and management were interviewed at length and at the end of the four days they informed us that they were very happy with what they saw and heard during their visit. What this means is that Work Venture's operation continues to be certified to the Disabilty Service Standards.
We are delighted with this result and would like to thank those of our clients who volunteered to be a part of the audit process and who related their experiences with Work Venture to the auditors. Thank you very much and we would like to assure you that although the audit process indicated that we were doing things right for our clients we will continue to look for ways to improve our services. Remember that we really would like to hear from you at any time if you have any suggestions on ways you think we can improve.
Latest Work Venture Survey now Complete
To all our clients who took the time to complete and return the survey forms that they recently received may we offer a big Thank You. Again we had an exceptional response. The results of the survey indicate that on the whole you are pleased with the services we deliver to you and that is reassuring to know. There were some who offered comments and advice on some aspects of our service or facilities that they felt we could maybe improve on. Rest assured that these comments have been taken on board and will be reviewed by management and actioned where appropriate.
Latest Newsletter
The latest newsletter has been published and a hard copy has been sent out along with an electronic version to those of our clients who have supplied an e-mail address. We hope you get something from it and remind you that we are always looking for stories from our clients that we can publish. So if you have achieved something that you feel should be reported to the rest of us then let us know so we can share it. If you failed to receive a copy of the newsletter you can see it here
VENTURE OUT
There has been a change to the number of Venture Out sessions we will be conducting. Those of you unfamiliar with these sessions should click here to get an update of the benefits to be had from these informal information sessions. Venture Out will be held on the first friday of every month. We have added an information page dedicated to these sessions which will keep you informed of the dates and topics to be covered. Dont forget to let us know which one you will be attending.
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