Group homes were never supposed to be a long-term solution to disability housing post deinstitutionalisation. Yet in Victoria, we still have thousands of people living with up to 10 others, simply because they have disability in common. Some people may want to live in that way, but we believe that people with disability expect to live a life that patterns the conditions of others who live in our society.

Housing Options Made Easy (HOME) fosters individualised living arrangements in which people come together to share interests, talents, lifestyle and values as their points of commonality. People are the centre of decision making about where they live, with whom and who supports them.

Individualised Living Options (ILOs) are a packaged approach to supports which are delivered under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). ILOs utilise a combination of informal and formal supports to enable a person to move out of the family home or otherwise change their accommodation and live an ordinary life within their community.

Most of our arrangements at HOME are “Housemate” models. This is where a person who does not have a disability (the housemate) lives with an NDIS Participant, and the NDIA allocates a payment in Participant plans which can be used towards the cost of accommodation for their housemate. Also contributing to this arrangement are support workers, family members, community members, and others depending on the lifestyle and needs of individuals.

The ILO Facilitator role will have an interface with relevant parties in a person’s life and seek to enable cohesion, clarity, stability and sustainability of the arrangement.

This can be done by:

• Meeting with the Participant early in their housing journey.
• Fostering relationships with people who can add value to an ILO arrangement.
• Developing, posting and responding to Housemate Search ads in print, digital form or both as required by the participant.
• Seeking suitable properties and communicating effectively with external stakeholders.
• Inputting data into NDIS ILO documentation as required.
• Developing a community access plan around the person’s community in line with their needs and preferences to help them to engage in the community in new or established ways.
• Meeting with the Participant as regularly as requested to ensure that the arrangement is working, and reporting back to management if things are not going as planned, so that more or different support can be provided.
• Developing relationships within an arrangement with a focus on ensuring that the vision of the Participant is maintained and that value is being sought across all relationships.
• Having a trusted relationship with family members.
• While the above list establishes parameters for the work as this is a new position supporting new models of home living it is likely that the role will be developmental and fluid.
• If required, holding onto an “on-call” phone for a limited period of time.

Functions of the Position

This position has four primary functions:

• Communication - The establishment of a point of influence that enables participants to be heard. You should be clear that the most important roles and focus in this position is ensuring people are heard and initiatives relating to individuals are enhanced and applied. This part of the role involves developing clear communication pathways between ILO Stakeholders, including Participants, families, housemates and staff. Being able to build and maintain relationships is another underpinning feature of this role and we aim to be trusted partners in people’s lives when supporting these arrangements.
• Seeking Partners - Assisting in the finding and vetting of suitable ILO partners (people who contribute to an ILO).
• Community Development – Supporting participants to maximise their access to meaningful community activities and valued roles.
• Reporting – The NDIA requires ILO providers to report on ILO outcomes and how Milparinka responds to a changing home and living environment. This will involve hosting regular meetings, taking minutes and reporting back to the NDIA through clear documentation.

The position description can be viewed here.