Participants & families

Life Without Barriers (LWB) has been providing group accommodation and individual support packages (ISPs) for people with disability in Victoria for nearly 10 years. Our services are currently located in Melbourne's northern and outer southern suburbs, and we are providing support coordination to around 140 people. Our teams have great experience in delivery and management of disability services and a very strong understanding of the NDIS.

The Victorian Disability Accommodation Supports (VDAS) Office is in Canterbury, which you can call on (03) 9245 2700, or visit Level 1, Suite 2, 15-17 Shierlaw Avenue.

We also have well-established offices across Melbourne, including Dandenong, Epping and Richmond.

Life Without Barriers provides assistance to participants to access activities in their community according to their choice and personal budget. If an activity in the community has a cost, such as going to the movies, it is expected that the person will pay for this activity as would anyone living in the community. There is no charge added to a person’s household expenses contribution for participation in community activities unless this is pre-arranged, in line with our policy and agreed by everyone in the house.

The Mobility Allowance is not available to people who have transitioned to the NDIS. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will assess a person’s support needs as part of their NDIS planning process and an allocation will be included as part of their NDIS plan, if this is deemed reasonable and necessary by the NDIA.

In-kind support refers to supports that are provided in a person’s plan, where the funding is not flexible and is paid directly to the person’s service provider. Following the transfer from DHHS to Life Without Barriers, we are engaging with participants, their families and staff to prepare SIL Quotes for the NDIA to approve. Once your SL Quote is approved, the in-kind funding that has been in place for support in your home will be replaced with SIL (Supported Independent Living) funding. See question our Supported Independent Living (SIL) FAQ section for further information.

Life Without Barriers will provide support regarding your personal funds only when required and when this has been agreed to with you or your financial administrator. Life Without Barriers has a clear policy and procedure regarding any involvement with your money in order to ensure transparent management of funds, as well as minimising financial risks such as accidental or fraudulent use of a residents' money. Going forward, you and your financial administrator will receive monthly reports on your client personal expenses from Australian Unity, which will help you and your financial administrator to understand how your personal funds are being spent.

Before transfer, your payments for rent, housekeeping and client personal expenses went into a Residents Trust Fund (RTF). This fund was managed by Australian Unity. Now that Life Without Barriers is your service provider, your payments for housekeeping and client personal expenses will still go into an account that Australian Unity will manage. This account will have a new account number, which we will share with you and your financial administrator.

You and your financial administrator will receive monthly reports on your client personal expenses from Australian Unity, which will help you and your financial administrator to understand how your personal funds are being spent.

We ensure regular and open communication in relation to the needs of individual residents, by face-to-face meetings, phone, and email.

Life Without Barriers also has a Families and Supporters Reference Group, made up of a representative group of supporters from across the different regions who expressed their interest in the group.

Families and supporters should have also received a Families and Supporters Welcome Pack in the mail, which included a form to send to Life Without Barriers, detailing how they would like to be contacted going forward. Families and supporters can still update their contact details by emailing Life Without Barriers at asklwbvic@lwb.org.au.

We are committed to delivering safe and high quality services and we are regularly reviewed and audited by our funders and regulators. Protecting the human rights and dignity of you and other people we support, as well as preventing abuse, is central to our practice and is non-negotiable. Our approach to creating safe environments is built on open, confident, and trusting relationships with people we support, their families, supporters, our staff, and the community. For more information on how we ensure your safety and quality service, please read our Quality and safeguarding FAQ section.

All participants, families, and staff can contact Life Without Barriers by speaking to your House Supervisor or Operations Manager or emailing asklwbvic@lwb.org.au. Families may also request a one-on-one meeting if this is how they would like to engage with us. We are very flexible in how we engage with families and really encourage people to contact us.

Absolutely, we view our relationship with families as a partnership. We regularly connect with families to discuss our support services through meetings, by phone, email, and written communication.

The Victorian Government will continue to provide subsidised items of aids and equipment, including continence products, to people over 65 years of age and people under 65 years of age with health related conditions.
If you already have aids and equipment provided through the Victorian Aids and Equipment Program you can continue to use the items until you either no longer need the item or it no longer meets your needs. In which case, you can apply to the Victorian Aids and Equipment Program for a new or replacement item.
If you need new or different items you can submit an application to the Victorian Aids and Equipment Program.

Continuity of Support means older Victorians living with a disability who are not eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will continue to receive disability supports to enable them to stay living where they are. If this applies to you, it means you will continue to get the same services that you receive now.

You can also request a change to your supports through your service provider if your needs change.

To be eligible for the CoS Program, you must be a person with a disability, aged 65 years or over (or 50-64 years if you are an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person), and not have transitioned to the NDIS.
To be eligible, you must also be receiving specialist disability supports in the last 12 months funded by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

For more information, visit the Australian Government's online 'Client Handbook' at https://agedcare.health.gov.au/programs/commonwealth-continuity-of-support-programme/client-resources/cos-client-handbook.

If you were over 65 at the time of transfer, and had not transitioned to the NDIS, your supports will be funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health (DoH) under a scheme called Continuity of Support (CoS), which enables you to stay supported in your home. If you had already transitioned to the NDIS before turning 65, you can either choose to continue to be supported by the NDIS, or you may choose to move to aged care supports at any time.

There are a number of people and organisations who check that quality services are being provided. These include our own Life Without Barriers managers who will visit on a very regular basis, as well as official Community Visitors, who report to the Office of the Public Advocate.

Life Without Barriers complies with all of the Victorian Government and National Disability Insurance Scheme's (NDIS) certification, registration, screening, safeguarding, and reporting requirements. These include:

• Robust screening and reference checking of all new staff including the Disability Worker Exclusion Scheme (DWES) and the new Code of Conduct for Disability Workers
• Client Incident Management System (CIMS)
• Strong practice governance and use of the Restrictive Interventions Data System (RIDS)
• Complaints management system
• Close work with the Office of Disability Services Commissioner
• Close work with the Office of the Public Advocate (OPA) including the Community Visitor's Program
• Workplace Health and Safety and Injury management system
• Comprehensive induction and training program for staff
• Policies and procedures relating to our service delivery that comply with all of the requirements, including staff training in these
• Close work with advocacy organisations

Incidents are reported via our Incident Reporting system (i-Sight). This system notifies various levels of management depending on the nature of the incident for required action. Where required, we will conduct an internal investigation by staff who are part of an investigation team but who do not work in or report to disability services. In some circumstances, we will engage an external investigator to conduct the investigation. Whether it is an internal or external investigation, we will ensure it is a thorough and transparent process that leads to a finding that will be communicated to relevant people. We will also ensure the outcome is fair and meets our obligations, which promotes continuous improvement.

Yes. If an item belonging to you goes missing, this should be reported to your House Supervisor. If the item cannot be located and it went missing in the house or while Life Without Barriers staff were providing support, the House Supervisor will be required to lodge a report in our incident system. Depending on the item and the circumstances surrounding it going missing, an investigation may be required. If you are unhappy with the outcome of a report of a missing item, you should follow our complaints process.

Now that you have transferred to Life Without Barriers, we are responsible for your safety and wellbeing, as your new provider.

On a day to day basis, House Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that support is provided in line with each person’s plan and that all relevant policies and procedures are understood and followed. These include things such as medication management, vehicle safety, restrictive practices, incident reporting, and complaint management. House Supervisors and their teams working in the houses are provided with training and support to understand and meet these obligations.

If you are unhappy with the way your house is running, we have an easy way for you to access our complaints process.

Firstly, where possible, we encourage you to raise your concern with the House Supervisor or your Key Worker. If the issue is not resolved in a way that you are comfortable with, then you can raise the concern with a more senior manager.

You, your family or supporters may also call Life Without Barriers on 1800 955 229, if you wish to make a complaint. This information is available in each house and also includes contact details of advocacy organisations and the Disability Services Commissioner.

We see complaints, compliments and feedback as an opportunity to understand the experience of the people we support and to continuously improve our approach and practice.

The NDIS requires a separation of accommodation (rent) and support. This means that instead of one payment for ‘board and lodging’, your rent and housekeeping will now be paid separately. Rent is to be paid to your Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) provider (DHHS or Housing Choices), while housekeeping and client personal expenses is to be paid to your service provider (Life Without Barriers).

In other words, your money will now be divided into two payments – one payment for rent, then one combined payment for housekeeping and your client personal expenses.

Rent covers the cost to live in the house that your SDA provider owns, while the board contribution fee covers housekeeping, utilities and whitegoods. The housekeeping component covers all general living expenses including, food, waste collection, cleaning, kitchen appliances, plus the repair and replacement of household items. Your client personal expenses includes all personal products, activities or entertainment beyond your basic needs, such as toiletries, new clothing, gifts, hairdressing services, going to the movies and taxi fares.

Life Without Barriers will work with you and your financial administrator to help you put in place a direct debit arrangement, for the amount of money you need to pay for housekeeping and client personal expenses. This means the money you owe will be automatically transferred from your nominated bank account to Life With­out Barriers, so you won’t have to remember when payments are due and it will be the same amount each time.

Absolutely! Our approach at Life Without Barriers is to partner with each person to support them to live the life they choose and achieve their goals.

The NDIS offers greater choice and control for people, including where they live and who provides their support. If one of your goals is to move to a different accommodation arrangement, we can support you to explore the available options and move when you find somewhere that is right for you.

Yes, you do. Every participant should have received a Residential Statement at the time of transfer. An NDIS Service Agreement for Supported Independent Living (known as SIL), which is the support in your home, will be put in place once the funding for SIL is provided through the NDIS, rather than the in-kind funding that you received through DHHS.

Every person receiving SIL funding requires a SIL Quote, which is an important document that includes key information and evidence about your support needs at home, and how much funding is required to support you.

Your SIL Quote will be submitted to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) with a series of other important documents that support your SIL Quote, which is called a SIL Quote Pack. There will be one SIL Quote Pack per household. Your SIL Quote Pack will include:

• Your SIL Quote, which Life Without Barriers will submit to the NDIA with SIL Quotes for every other person living in your house
• A Roster of Care for the house that you live in, which will be created by Life Without Barriers
• A floor plan of the house that you live in
• An hourly breakdown of the support required for you and every person living in your house
• Evidence to support why such services are required

We understand just how important it is for people to feel comfortable about who they live with. We manage vacancies in partnership with the SDA providers and in line with the new NDIS requirements and the DHHS Vacancy Management process. This includes ensuring a standardised approach such as declaring and advertising the vacancy, then assessing the applications based on likely compatibility. We support decision making by arranging meetings and visits so that applicants have an opportunity to meet with people living at the house before a final offer is made and communicated.

Now you have transferred to Life Without Barriers, we will prepare a SIL Quote with you, your staff, and family and supporters. This quote includes important information and evidence about your support needs at home. Once finalised, we will submit the quote to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) for consideration and approval. Once the NDIA approves the quote, the support in your home will be provided through the SIL funding. This will be reviewed on an annual basis or if your needs change.

Firstly, where possible, we encourage you to raise your concern with the House Supervisor or your Key Worker. If the issue is not resolved in a way that you are comfortable with, then you can raise the concern with a more senior manager.

You may also call 1800 955 229 if you wish to make a complaint. This information is made available in each house and also includes the details of advocacy organisations and the Disability Services Commissioner.

We see complaints, compliments, and feedback as an opportunity to understand the experience of the people we support and to continuously improve our approach and practice.

We will work with you to review your respite requirements and identify what is available through your NDIS funding.

We see access to independent advocacy as a vital component of our safeguarding framework and we work closely with advocacy organisations such as VALID, to ensure people receive support to develop their self-advocacy skills. Each house has details of advocacy organisations and staff are trained to understand the importance of independent advocates and welcome their involvement.

We are experienced at providing support to people with a diverse range of needs, including people with complex communication or health needs, significant behaviours of concern, degenerative conditions, and ageing. We recognise that some people require specialised approaches to support them and our approach is to listen, understand, and adapt our supports to meet these needs by involving our own specialists and partnering specialist services.

We understand that the people we support may have dietary needs, above and beyond the need for a balanced diet. We work with you, your family, and your health professionals to understand your dietary needs, then support our staff teams to implement these requirements and recommendations.

Providing individually tailored, person-centred supports is at the centre of our approach. This includes quality planning, regular communication, and working in partnership with each person and their support network. As you transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), your needs and goals will be individually assessed to create a support plan that is tailored to you.

If you were over 65 at the time of transfer, and had not transitioned to the NDIS, your supports will be funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under a scheme called Continuity of Support (CoS). In this case, you do not need to move out of your home at this time, unless you choose to do so. If you had already transitioned to the NDIS before turning 65, you can either choose to continue to be supported by the NDIS, or choose to move to aged care supports at any time.

Read our Participants over 65 FAQ section for more information.