Following a recent announcement from the Prime Minister, we have a number of updates and decisions to share.

Community:

We are transitioning to providing 1:1 community supports, while maintaining social distancing, for all community customers.

We are reviewing how we can redirect staff to provide essential supports such as food shopping and visits to necessary medical appointments on a 1:1 basis.

We can report that we have had support from volunteers (including staff from our corporate partner, ANZ) who have undertaken grocery shopping for our customers in their own time. We are grateful for this support.

Accommodation:

Vacant homes or rooms will not be shown. We will continue to have conversations with individuals who are considering more independent living and provide support and advice over the phone.

Supported employment:

The support of our customers and staff remains our priority. We have made changes to all our supported employment sites to comply with social distancing requirements. We are also providing additional cleaning equipment, and have communicated new stricter requirements, to employment sites to ensure they remain safe for our staff and customers.

A large number of our supported employees have already chosen to take leave, self-isolate or take part in other activities. This has caused a reduction in the number of people at our employment sites.

We are working closely with our more vulnerable supported employees, who have underlying health conditions, to ensure they are well supported. Recognising the mental health benefits and sense of belonging that employment provides, we believe our supported employees deserve the opportunity to continue working, if they choose.

We have been liaising with National Disability Services (NDS) and lobbying the government for additional stock of personal protective equipment (PPE). The disability sector is experiencing challenges in this area and we will continue to push for greater support, while exploring other ways to source the necessary equipment.