Training for carers and families
NDIS Carer Training & Development in Australia
As a carer of a person who experiences disability, you may find your role overwhelming. The role, after all, can be an incredibly challenging and intensive one.
Many family members acting as carers will find themselves providing support for long hours. They may also be performing tasks without any training or skill development. This can lead to burnout, injury, and stress.
Fortunately, there are organisations available to help. Training can be a great way to learn new skills, gain further confidence in caring and meet other members of the community who can be helpful for support.
In Australia there exist many organisations that offer training specifically for families and carers.
NDIS funding for training
For carers and family members, funds can be used to cover the cost of NDIS career training in Australia. This can be in the form of one-on-one training, courses delivered online, or group classes.
Funding can include training programs for things such as:
– Record keeping
– Managing NDIS funding
– Behaviour support needs
– Non-verbal communication courses and more.
Courses tend to be state-specific, and are often offered by specific organisations related to your child or family member’s disability. Here are a few examples:
VALID is a Victorian-based advocacy organisation that offers training tools and resources all to empower those experiencing disability and their families.
VALID also offers a specific training course for families. Their signature course covers effectively managing an NDIS plan. The aim is to navigate what can be a complicated process to ensure the best possible outcomes. The course includes future planning, how the NDIS works and getting effective support. While there is a course cost, it can be claimed within plan funds.
Currently, the organisation is also offering a free course, The Succession Planning Puzzle, to help families succession plan including mapping out the future, options for financial, accommodation and legal issues and more.
Carers Australia is an organisation dedicated to providing support, education, resources and training for carers.
They offer training sessions in their state-based organisations, with the aim of building knowledge, confidence, and resilience for carers. Carers Australia offers a broad range of workshops to assist carers in a cohesive way. Workshops range from mind and body therapy like mindfulness and dance education to practical sessions like supported decision making, future planning, and setting up carer support groups.
Unfortunately, for people who experience disability, legal complaints are more common. There are people who can help train carers in these matters.
The IDRS is located in New South Wales and is a free service for people who experience intellectual or other cognitive impairments. Focused on legal advocacy, their vision is equal rights for people who experience disability.
As part of the organisation, they offer training for the disability sector and families. This includes financial planning, common legal issues, NDIS appeals, accommodation agreements, and wills and inheritance.
Other training and support organisations include:
Hope Tutoring
Triple P
Parenting Research Centre
Xavier
Belonging Matters Inc.
First Peoples Disability Network Australia
Association for Children with a Disability
We know that there are many others, and we’d love to hear from you if you have suggestions for organisations you’d like to see on our list!
We’re here to help
If you’re curious about using your NDIS funds for training programs or workshops, but don’t know where to start, we can help. We can help you to use your funding flexibly so that you can get the most out of NDIS funding.
Get in touch today to see how we can help you use your NDIS plan funds flexibly. Email us at [email protected] or call us on 1300 60 33 89.
