June 2015
Easy English version
What’s in this document?
A note from the Minister
3
About the Awards
4
Types of Awards
5
Who can win an Award?
7
Can you nominate someone?
8
How do you make a nomination?
9
The rules that apply
11
The judging process
12
The Awards Ceremony
13
Summary of how to nominate
14
Contact us
15
Word list
16
A note from the Minister
The New South Wales Government is very excited to take part in these
Awards with National Disability Services.
It is the 4th year of the NSW Disability Industry Innovation Awards.
The government is continuing to make sure that people with disability,
their family and carers can get the help and support they need.
The NDIS in the Hunter area has been very successful so far.
During the trial, we have learned a lot about the best ways to provide
services that meet the needs of people with disability.
I am thrilled that NSW is the first state in Australia to take the National
Disability Insurance Scheme into new areas.
I encourage you to make a nomination if you know an individual or
organisation that is making a difference.
The Hon. John Ajaka MLC
Minister for Disability Services
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About the Awards
The NSW Disability Industry Innovation Awards celebrate the great work
that is being done to improve the lives of people with disability in NSW.
Innovation means thinking of new ideas and ways of doing things.
These Awards are all about innovation for people with disability.
In NSW, a lot of changes are happening for people with disability at the
moment, especially in the way people receive support.
We are encouraging this change by giving Awards to people and
organisations who are doing a great job.
An organisation is a large group of people who work together. In this
document, we are mostly talking about organisations that provide
services for people with disability, and their families and carers.
This year, there are 8 types of Awards.
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Types of Awards
Leadership in Community Partnerships and Transformation Award
This Award is for a person or organisation that is improving the way our
community accepts people with disability, and helping people with
disability take part in the community.
Leadership in NDIS Readiness Award
This Award is for an organisation that is doing really well at getting ready
for the NDIS.
Excellence in Individualised Decision Support and Service
Provision Award
This Award is for a worker who is doing a great job of making sure
people with disability are at the centre of decision-making about their
lives.
Leadership in Community Accessibility Award
This Award is for an organisation that is improving the way people with
disability take part in the community.
Excellence in Employment Inclusion Award
This Award is for a person or organisation that is giving people with
disability opportunities to work.
Excellence in Promoting Cultural Competency Award
This Award is for a person or organisation that is making sure that
people with disability from all cultures are included.
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Excellence in Indigenous Programs Award
This Award is for a person or organisation that is supporting Aboriginal
people with disability to make choices and have control.
The Minister's Award for Excellence
The Minister will offer this Award to the winner of one of the other
Awards. This Award will go to the person or organisation that the Minster
feels is the most committed, creative and innovative of all the Award
winners.
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Who can win an Award?
Some of the Awards are for individual people, some are for
organisations and some are for both.
Individuals who can win an Award are those who work with people with
disability. This may be a volunteer or someone who gets paid for their
work.
The organisations who can win an Award are those that work with
people with disability.
The organisations will be not-for-profit, community-based organisations.
A service that is part of the government or a local council cannot win an
Award.
However, if a community organisation works in partnership with the
government or a local council, this is ok.
A person or organisation who wins must work with people with disability
in NSW.
And the innovative or new way of working must have taken place in
NSW.
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Can you nominate someone?
When you suggest a person or organisation for an Award, it is called a
nomination.
Anyone can make a nomination.
An organisation or person can even nominate themselves if they want
to.
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How do you make a nomination?
You can go online and make a nomination
www.disabilityawards.com.au
Or you can complete a nomination form.
You will need to provide some details about yourself and the person or
organisation you are nominating.
The form also has 4 important questions that you need to answer.
These questions are explained on the form.
You can make a nomination in writing.
You can also make a nomination in a recording, using:
 audio
 film
 photographs.
Please contact us for more information about how to do this. Our contact
details are on
page 20.
Here are some important things to think about when making a
nomination:
 you might like to talk to other people about your nomination – they
might give you different ideas about how to answer the questions
on the form
 make sure you answer the 4 important questions

give clear examples of the good work the individual or organisation
is doing
 don’t repeat any examples in your answers to the different
questions
 keep all your answers short and simple
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 you can use full sentences or dot points when answering the
questions.
Don't forget to tell us how innovative the person or organisation has
been.
You can tell us the new ideas they have come up with, or explain any
new ways of working with people with disability.
We suggest that you keep a copy of your nomination form and any other
pages you send to us. Once we have your form, we won’t be able to
send it back.
Please send us your completed nomination by 5pm on Thursday 3
September 2015.
We will not be able to take any nominations that arrive after this time.
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The rules that apply
As well as the information we have
provided above, there are some rules about the Awards:
 You must contact the person or organisation you are nominating
and make sure they:
• know that you are entering their name for an Award
• understand that they may need to provide more information
• are happy for these things to happen.
 You will not be able to discuss the judges’ decisions with them if
you disagree with their choices.
 When you make your nomination, the information and photographs
you send may be used by the event organisers to advertise the
Awards.
 Everyone who is a finalist for an Award will be asked to work with
National Disability Services to write a short story about the work
they won the Award for.
All Awards will be given to the winners at the Awards Ceremony. There
is more information about this on page 19.
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The judging process
The judging panel will be a group of people who are experts in the
different areas relating to each of the types of awards.
This might include:
 business people
 people who work in the disability sector
 people who work for other organisations.
There is a set of rules for the way that the
Awards are judged. The judging panel will follow these rules.
The panel will choose the winner of the Award from the nominations.
The winner must be approved by the Minister for Disability Services.
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The Awards Ceremony
The Awards Ceremony will be held in
November 2015.
The Awards Ceremony will be held in Sydney.
We will tell all the people who are finalists for an Award. They will be
invited to the Awards Ceremony, where the winners will be announced.
The Minister for Disability Services will give the winners their Awards.
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Summary of how to nominate
Nominations open
You can start sending us your nominations from Wednesday 10 June
2015.
Nominations close
Please send us your nominations before
5pm on Thursday 3 September 2015.
We will not be able to take any nominations that arrive after this time.
Where to send your nomination form
You can go online and make your nomination
www.disabilityawards.com.au
You can also send a completed nomination by post, email or fax. Our
contact details are on page 21.
Contacting you about your nomination
We will contact you about your nomination within 10 days of receiving
your form.
If you do not hear from us, please email:
[email protected]
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Contact us
Ms Ashley Kadib
Sector Development (Administration and Policy) Officer
National Disability Services
GPO Box 2687
Sydney NSW 2001
02 9256 3174
[email protected]
02 9256 3123
More information
If you need any more information about the awards, please have a look
on our website:
www.nds.org.au/nswdiia
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Word list
Community
A community is the place where you live. It is not just your home. It is
outside your home as well. It includes the people who live in your area.
Innovation
Innovation means thinking of new ideas and ways of doing things.
Organisation
A large group of people who work together.
In this document, we are mostly talking about organisations that provide
services for people with disability, and their families and carers.
Nomination
When you suggest a person or organisation
for an award this is called a nomination.
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