Message from
our Executive
Director
Welcome to ADEC's first
newsletter for 2023
Melissa Elston
Executive Director
www.adec.org.au @ADECINC @ADEC_AUSTRALIA @ADEC
Thank you to our Board!
ADEC is moving its head
office to South Morang,
into a newly constructed
office building.
From mid year, our head
office will be located at
855 Plenty Road,
South Morang.
In the interim we are still
here providing the best
services for you and your
loved ones.
We are looking forward to
moving to a brand new
office that is more
accessibility friendly.
We are moving to
a new location!
This newsletter features a
snapshot of our programs, projects, events, and
achievements for the first quarter of 2023.
We hope this information is useful and brings
value to your lives.
ADEC has made a strong start
to the New Year. We’ve seen
our staffing flourish with new
talent, and our programs are
operating at full capacity
once again. We remain closely
involved in sector
developments, including the
move to the Support at Home
program, a reformed and
improved in-home support
program for our ageing
population.
We continue to prepare for
our Head Office move to
South Morang and are excited
by the new opportunities and
partnerships that will be on
offer.
ADEC is planning a launch to
showcase our new office and
location towards the middle
of the year.
The launch will provide an
opportunity for us to get to
know our neighbours and the
wider Whittlesea community,
and commence vital
discussions with likeminded
organisations as we continue
to drive social change and
equality for all Victorians.
Further information on our
office launch will be provided
over the coming months.
ADEC’s Board of Management is currently
recruiting new members in the areas of legal,
finance, and fundraising. If you, or someone you
know, has a passion for supporting diverse
communities, driving social change, and would
like to be considered for a Board Member
position, please contact us at info@adec.org.au
Funded Local
Transport for
Seniors in the
South, East, and
West Melbourne
AGED CARE
Commonwealth
Home Support
Program (CHSP)
Are you over 65 and need
to get out and about but
don’t like using public
transport?
You can get taxis support
services to travel within
your local area at a very
low cost (or fully funded
depending on the distance)
Every day things around the house like cleaning,
cooking, bathing, and gardening.
Health appointments like physio, GP, podiatry,
occupational therapy or allied health assessments.
Getting out and about to do shopping, see family and
friends, go to an exercise class or go to a cafe.
Procurement of aides and equipment.
Our friendly Aged Care Case Managers help people aged
over 65 to organise services including:
If you or someone you know could use this kind of help
please contact our Aged Care team on email:
hcp@adec.org.au or call (03) 9480 7000
@ADECnfp @adec-australia 175 Plenty road, (03) 9480 7000
Preston, VIC 3072
Shopping
Hospital appointments
Doctor appointments
Exercise classes
Visiting family and friends
Cafes or restaurants
Below are just some places you
can go:
*To use this funded travel, you need
to be registered with
My Aged Care – we can help you
register.
Where can I travel?
Home Care Packages
Contact us on
(03) 9480 7000 to get on
your way!
You can choose from a
set menu of home care
services
Only pay a contribution
for the services you use
Can dip in and out of
the program as you
need services
Have your eligibility
assessed by the
Regional Assessment
Service (RAS)
CHSP helps people over 65
years access entry-level
support services to live
independently and safely
at home.
With CHSP:
Best of all this service is
FREE!
ADEC's NDIS Appeals team is committed to upholding
the rights of people with disability from culturally and
linguistically diverse background. We support
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) applicants
appealing the NDIS decision related to access and
planning.
2023 has been particularly exciting time for NDIS
Appeals team. To reduce the backlog of AAT matters
relating to appealing NDIS decisions, a new pilot
initiative of Independent Expert Review (IER) was
introduced by NDIA in late 2022.
ADEC is supporting the AAT applicants appealing
NDIA decisions, as well as the participants who have
been invited to join the IER.
We can help by:
- explaining the review process, including what is
involved in appealing to the AAT
- providing information and advice so you can better
represent yourself
- helping to prepare documents and attending AAT
conferences together to help you put your case to the
AAT
- providing information on the IER process and helping
you to decide on whether to participate in IER
For more information, please contact
ndis.admin@adec.org.au
NDIS
Appeals and Review “Michael is a wonderful
person to have on your
Team. He is always
professional and often goes
above and beyond. He is a
truly wonderful asset.”
Client Feedback
Experienced - providing
disability services for
over 35 years
Culturally appropriate -
our skilled and culturally
sensitive plan managers
are experienced with
culturally diverse
participants, servicing
people from over 20
different CALD
backgrounds
Regular updates - we
provide monthly
statements
Personal, prompt and
priority service
Free Interpreters
We are accepting new
clients.
Why should you choose
ADEC?
Our NDIS team would love to
help you!
Contact:
ndis.admin@adec.org.au or
call 9480 7000
"Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.”
— Margaret Mead
Plan Management
Appeals and
Review
“I just wanted to take the
opportunity to say a big
thank you to Deborah for
all of her assistance and
brilliant advocacy skills in
helping to secure an NDIS
plan that will finally meet
my daughter needs.
She knows her stuff and
genuinely cares and is
passionate about getting
her clients the very best
outcomes”.
Plan
Managment
COMMUNITY SERVICES
“Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.”
— Jackie Chan
Projects Highlights
ADEC's Capacity Building projects support our
communities to build capacity in their day to day lives
through a variety of empowering projects, social support
groups, and advocacy.
If you or someone you know could benefit from
participating, or if you would like to make a referral to our
Community Services team
(Projects, Social Support Groups and Advocacy), please
contact on (03) 9480 7000 (Extension 3)
or email: werribee@adec.org.au
Capacity Building
Project Updates
Social Support
Groups
Over the last few months,
the Social Support Groups
program has been offering
clients with activities filled
with fun laughter,
celebration and new
learning experiences.
Through our activities,
clients celebrated many
events, such as Christmas,
New Year’s & Chinese New
Year.
The Groups program had
also organised road trips to
locations such as the
Peninsula Hot Springs.
In February, the ADEC
Capacity Building Program
collaborated with the
Groups Program to organise
swimming sessions for a
number of social support
groups, particularly Chinese
& Vietnamese clients from
the North & West Regions.
The clients enjoyed the
sessions, as it offered a new
learning experience in a
unique location.
The clients are looking
forward to the diverse range
of activities that ADEC has
to offer in 2023.
We delivered online NDIS
Education workshops to
up to 54 people living with
the disability, their
families, carers, and
support networks.
Our Women of Colour
project offers an
extensive range of
programs in different
areas of Melbourne
partnering with Wyndham
City’s Active Mommies,
Hume Council, Whittlesea
Council, and our Chinese,
and Vietnamese Social
Groups, with activities
delivered in Reservoir,
Dandenong, Brimbank,
Noble Park, and
Collingwood.
Workshops for yoga,
swimming, reformer
Pilates, Zumba, Latin-fit,
Work-it, and Self-defence
classes are still ongoing
and free slots are still
available for some of
these sessions.
Please
email:chuye@adec.org.au
Total of 44 workshops
were delivered so far and
with the project ending in
March 2023.
Feedback received from
participants to date is that
they are enjoying the free
workshops. The projects
delivered enable them to
socialise with others, stay
active, and have fun.
Advocacy
CARE COORDINATION
ADEC's support workers
are professional and
compassionate individuals
who deeply care about the
well being of the clients
they support.
Our workforce of support
workers speaks many
languages including:
English, Hindi, Greek,
Arabic, Chinese, Korean,
Macedonian, Somalian,
Vietnamese, and Turkish
to name a few.
Nazife Sahin is the
superstar support worker
for the month of Feb, well
done Nazife!
“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. ”
— Theodore Roosevelt
Star of the month
Accessing NDIS
NDIS plan reviews
Guardianship
Finances
Public housing
Education
Employment
Centrelink
And many others
In the last few months,
ADEC's Advocates
supported 210 clients
from 40 different cultural
backgrounds with issues
such as:
We are taking on new
clients.
If you know of anyone who
needs our support, please
contact ADEC on 03 9480
7000 (ext 3) and ask to
speak with the advocacy
intake team.
If you need to make a
referral, fill in the form
below on our website or
email:
werribee@adec.org.au
How can an ADEC Support Worker
assist you?
Personal hygiene
Household duties
Mealtime assistance
Attending appointments
Attending groups or social outings
Connecting you with like-minded people
Holiday support providing care and companionship
ADEC’s Disability Support Program currently has
availability to take more clients!
Our many support workers can assist with your daily
life tasks and to work towards achieving your personal
goals and get help with:
Currently we are supporting participants from 37
different speaking languages, including Dinka,
Cantonese, Arabic, and Turkish just to name a few.
For more information please contact:
ndis.admin@adec.org.au
Our Support Worker Unit has been renamed
Care Coordination Program to better represent
the services they offer to our clients.
Employee of the month ADEC EVENTS
Below are just some of our superstar
staff who've won the star of the
month this year. It is always a really
hard choice to make!
Multicultural Lunches
Our Multicultural lunches were a hit when they first started last year. Our
staff hail from 38 different countries so to say we've had a few feasts is
an understatement!
It has been a delicious way to get to know each other better!
We are hiring
We currently have the following positions
available:
Quality & Compliance Officer Aged Care
Support Workers
Afghani Group Facilitator
Karen Group Facilitator
Karenni Group Facilitator
Aged Care Care Manager
Aged Care Team Leader
People & Culture Manager
People & Culture Supervisor
Advocate
Accounts Officer
If you believe you have the skillset to
apply for one of these positions, please
send an email with your resume to
jobs@adec.org.au
In this pre-recorded session, MCCI's Anica
Petkovski talks about the importance of
looking after carers from culturally and
linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds
and discusses their unique challenges. To
find out more please visit:
https://www.mcci.org.au/diversity-and-
inclusion/caldways-webinars/
Resources
Free CALDWAYS Webinar on the challenges of CALD carers
Other Events
Darebin Intercultural Centre Open Day
ADEC attended the Darebin Intercultural Centre Open Day. The new
Darebin Intercultural Centre, 350 High Street, Preston was officially
launched by the Mayor on Sunday 19 March.
Care and Aging Well Expo
ADEC attended the Care and Aging Well
Expo in February, which gave us a great
networking opportunity to meet and
discuss ideas with like-minded people.
