Hi there! Just wanting to keep you up to date with what is happening at BCD – Better Care Delivered who is your NDIS service provider.
We have all had such a difficult start to 2020 with bush fires, then floods and now the Coronavirus. I want to reassure you that BCD is well resourced to continue providing services during this time. We are a tough bunch and banded together to support during the fires that affected many of us.
Our support office team can all work from home and stay connected so I do not anticipate you experiencing any interruptions if we needed any of our team to stay home in isolation.
As for the team that support you in your home or out and about in the community, we need to work together to make sure we are all taking the advice on good infection control. Some information below:
I have been making sure the whole team knows and practises good hygiene practices and they will inform us straight away if they have any symptoms so we can assess and isolate them from the working roster. They will be working with personal protective equipment including gloves and surgical masks which are deemed appropriate for controls by the Dept of Health at this time.
If you could also let our Care Central Team know on 1800 275 223 if you are experiencing any symptoms relating to the Coronavirus. We want to know if you have had to isolate yourselves so we can make sure you have all you need in terms of supplies or even just for a check in.
We are reviewing advice daily and I would recommend that you keep informed too via the NSW Government Health website: www.health.nsw.gov.au. The NDIA also have some easy to read information available at www.ndis.gov.au.
Thanks for taking the time to read through and I would encourage you to reach out to us anytime if you have any questions or concerns. Contact either via phone at 1800 275 223 or email carecentral@bcdcci.org.au or even via text on 0488 447 717.
I wish you and your families only wellness during this time.
Kind regards
Heather Hollingworth
CEO BCD – Better Care Delivered
Ph: 1800 275 223
Email: heather.hollingworth@bcdcci.org.au
NDIS Specific Changes
The NDIS is making quite a number of changes to give as much support as possible to both you and service providers so that we can continue to provide services, as well as employment to our Support Workers.
We are also seeing more flexibility in the way services can be delivered and how you can be supported with different line items and exceptions being made to deal with the current situation. The cancellation policy and price changes suggested by the NDIA are outlined below, and like other providers BCD are choosing to implement them for these reasons.
Cancellations
From the 25th March if you do need to cancel a service and you have no other options for ways in which we can provide you services, then you will need to provide 10 business days’ notice to avoid the Cancellation Fee. Please note that this cancellation fees will now be charged at 100% of the service cost and will be charged to your NDIS package.
BCD will use this cancellation charge to pay the wages to workers who would have provided services to you or your family member during those 10 days. This maintains some income for where we may not be able to offer them alternative shifts.
Price changes
From 30 March, there is a 10% price increase for the following support categories:
- Category 1 – Daily Activities
- Category 4 – Social, Civic and Community Participation
- Category 15 – Improved Daily Living
These changes are temporary for the next 6 months and are included in the revised NDIS Price Guide.
Other changes
Other key changes by the NDIS in response to COVID-19 include:
- Plans will no longer end and be automatically extended for 365 days. You do not need to do anything. The funding remains the same and there will be no gaps between plans
- If you don’t have support coordination in your plan, you can now use some of your core funding to engage a support coordinator to help you. This might be helpful to navigate all your supports at this time.
For more information go to: https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/price-guides-and-pricing
Please contact our Care Central team on 1800275223 or carecentral@bcdcci.org.au if you would like to talk about your specific circumstances.
