Ndis Navigator

Location: Western Region | Ballarat

Job type: Full time / From 29/07/2024

Organisation: Schools (Government)

**Salary**: Salary not specified

Occupation: Health and Allied Health

Reference: 1419842

**Selection Criteria**:

- Demonstrated highly developed interpersonal skills and communication skills.
- Demonstrated capability to establish and maintain collaborative relationships between people with disability and their parents and carers, other organisations or agencies and the wider community.
- Demonstrated understanding of issues facing students with disability and their parents/carers.
- Experience in building the capacity of others to navigate complex systems.
- Demonstrated knowledge of the operations of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and/or operations of specialist schools.

**Role**:
Children and young people with disability can require a greater degree of parental or family involvement in their education and care than their peers without disability. Parents and carers of children with disability play several supporting roles, including as advocates and as people who can provide valuable insight into their child's specific needs for services such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the broader health and community services system.

The Victorian Government is introducing new NDIS Navigators from 2023 in government specialist schools to provide support to parents and carers to help them navigate and understand the NDIS, enabling them to get the most out of the supports available. They will also provide support to schools, parents and carers to better understand the interface between the education system and the NDIS.

**Responsibilities**:
The NDIS Navigator will carry out the following with a high level of autonomy (within broad guidelines), professional leadership and mínimal day-to-day direction:

- provide support and advice for parents and carers to build their capacity to understand, advocate for and access appropriate NDIS funded support services available to their children
- develop and maintain relationships with parents, carers, school staff and local services to enable productive working relationships between schools, parents, carers and the NDIS
- support collaborative practices between NDIS funded services and the school including by providing appropriate information, documentation and/or logístical support for approved NDIS-funded therapist on-site visits. (School to edit/amend if they do not allow NDIS therapists to delivery therapy on school site)
- working collaboratively across their school, the NDIS Navigator will support families and carers to resolve issues experienced with the NDIS through appropriate channels.

The NDIS Navigator will not:

- contact the National Disability Insurance Agency or NDIS funded agencies on behalf of families or carers except in limited circumstances, following consultation with the principal
- act as an advocate for families, carers and students in matters that are the responsibility of the school.

**Who May Apply**:
Relevant experience in the NDIS, disability, youth or education sectors is desirable but not essential.

**EEO AND OHS Commitment**:
**Child Safe Standards**:
Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the department's exemplar available at:
**DE Values**:
The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership and Human Rights. The department's Values complement each school's own values and underpin the behaviours the community expects of Victorian public sector employees, including those who work in Victorian Government Schools. Information on the department values is available at:
**Other Information**:
Hours of work are Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

**Conditions of Employment**:

- Applicants should keep a copy of the position description as it cannot be accessed once the job has closed.
- All staff employed by the department and schools have access to a broad range of employment conditions and working arrangements.
- If appointed from outside the department, successful applicants will be required to complete a pre-employment health declaration.
- To support the department¿s commitment to its Environmental Management System, department employees are expected to act in an environmentally responsible manner at all times.

**Location Profile**:
Ballarat Specialist School caters for students aged from 3 to 18 years who have a diagnosed intellectual disability ranging from mild to profound.

Ballarat Specialist School is a dual-campus K-12 school organised around four stag