The guide was rolled out in Yarralin and Kalkarindji last week, with a free lunch and afternoon tea thrown for participants and family members.

The guide walks participants through NDIS journey from the first step of connecting to VDRC’s NDIS Program for supports and services, to the importance of consent to access information, how VDRC can best help someone achieve their goals, what a service agreement looks like and the process of reviews.

The guide also highlights the community benefits of choosing VDRC as a NDIS provider such as:

• Helping create local jobs in community.
• Maintaining a connection to culture and family.
• Being able to access supports needed in community.
• Being cared for on Country.

Vivian Bailey, VDRC’s NDIS Manager, said that the inner workings of the National Disability Insurance Scheme could be tough to understand, especially if you’re a person with disability, which is why the guide was so important.

“This guide really lays out every step of someone’s NDIS journey to help them understand the care they should be receiving, what their rights are as a participant of the scheme are, and how they can choose the kind of care they want,” Bailey said.

As well as the participant guide, a number of other resources were released to empower NDIS participants and staff members.

These included activity ideas and plans for participants, a recipe book of healthy meal ideas, upskilling activities and workshops, and fishing equipment.

NDIS staff will continue to work closely with frontline staff and participants to produce relevant resources that empower participants to achieve their goals and ambitions in community.