St Vincent de Paul Society NSW
ABN: 91 161 127 340
Charles O’Neill State Support Office
Decision Making Facilitator
Position Description
__________________________________________________________________
2C West Street
Lewisham NSW 2049
PO Box 5
Petersham NSW 2049
Telephone: (02) 9568 0262
Facsimile: (02) 9550 9383
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.vinnies.org.au
Donation Hotline: 13 18 12
Position Title
Decision Making Facilitator (Kanangra Centre Project)
Responsible Council
NSW State Council
Reports To
Decision Making Project Coordinator (Kanangra Centre Project)
Base Location
Lake Macquarie Area, NSW
Primary position objective
The Decision Making (DM) Facilitator will implement a framework of
decision making support for people living at the Family and Community
Services (FACS) Kanangra Centre so that they can exercise their rights,
be central to the decision making process and be supported to make their
own decisions wherever possible. There are three DM Facilitator roles
available in this new team.
The position holder will facilitate the implementation of Supported
Decision Making for people with disability to make decisions for
themselves and increase their choice and control over their own life.
Supported Decision Making offers a framework for improving capacity of
families, carers and service providers to move towards a person centred
approach.
For people who are unable to be supported to make their own decisions,
the DM Facilitator will provide support for people with disability to have
optimum participation in the decision making process, so that decisions
are made in accordance with the person’s rights, will and preferences.
The support provided by the DM Facilitator will include education and
facilitation activities with people with disability, their families, staff and
other key supporters. The DM Facilitator may also provide decision
making support to people who may presently lack existing supporters in
their lives apart from staff and substitute decision makers.
A key focus for the DM Facilitation Team will be preparing people and
their supporters for their engagement in the National Disability Insurance
Agency (NDIS) planning process and the decisions that entails. The DM
Facilitation Team will liaise closely with the NDIS planners to ensure they
understand and are able to communicate the choices people need to
make in the planning process.
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Every day in NSW the Society helps thousands of people through Home Visitation, Hospital Visitation, Prison Visitation, Homeless Services for
Men, Women and families, Migrants & Refugee Assistance, Support for those living with a mental illness, Supported Employment Services for
People with an intellectual and other disabilities, Vinnies Centres, Overseas Relief, Disaster Recovery, Budget Counselling and Youth Programs.
Decision Making Facilitator
– Position Description February 2015
St Vincent de Paul Society
The St Vincent de Paul Society is a member and volunteer based organisation that has been assisting
people experiencing disadvantage in NSW for more than 130 years.
The Society was founded by a 20 year old man named Frederic Ozanam in 1833, who with a group of
friends, wanted to make a difference to the poverty and disadvantage that he saw around him in postRevolution France. Leading by example and with boundless energy, Frederic started what is now a worldwide movement in just 20 short years. The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW has around 16,000 members
and volunteers and 1,400 staff. Our local member networks, referred to as Conferences, are present in
over 420 communities across NSW.
Our members and volunteers provide assistance to people experiencing disadvantage including food
parcels and vouchers, financial assistance, assistance with energy bills and other debt, budget counselling
and the provision of other material items such as furniture, clothing and bedding and any other household
items. Importantly, our members also provide vital emotional support and referral services as needed.
The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is a leading provider of community support services and has close to
100 Special Works across the State in the areas of homelessness, mental health, disability, financial
counselling, supported accommodation, food provision, refugees and migrants and addiction counselling.
Our work is funded by all levels of government, the generous support we receive from the community and
our 250 Retail Centres across NSW.
Service Overview
St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is working in partnership with NSW Family and Community Services
(FACS) and La Trobe University to develop and pilot an approach to supporting people with decision
making for those people who live at the Kanangra Centre, a large residential centre south of Newcastle.
The project will build upon the previous FACS Supported Decision Making project, whilst providing for a
graduated response to assist people who are not able to be supported to make their own decisions to
maximise their choice and control.
The people who reside at the Kanangra Centre may have limited decision making capabilities due to the
complex nature of their disability and as a result of the nature of their institutional living environment. This
project, which will run for 15 months, aims to increase their capabilities through building their supports so
they will be better prepared for the critical decisions they will be required to make with the implementation
of key reforms of the disability sector and to better equip them to gain the maximum benefit from their
future lives in the community.
The project will also ensure that appropriate safeguards are maintained for people with highly complex
needs to ensure that there is a balance maintained between the person’s desires and preferences with an
informed understanding of their best interests.
The scope of the project includes the identification, adaptation and development of a framework for
supporting all people with intellectual disabilities so that they can be central to the decision making
process and supported to make their own decisions wherever possible. The framework to be developed
with the assistance of La Trobe University, and which will incorporate and complement the FACS SDM
model, is to meet certain guiding principles to ensure that all people are provided with support and have
their rights protected regardless of their level of decision making capacity and existing supports.
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Decision Making Facilitator
– Position Description February 2015
This position will work within the DM Facilitation Team that will assist in the implementation of a decision
making framework through education and facilitation activities with people with disabilities, their families,
staff and other key supporters. The scope of the project will also include a process to provide decision
making support to people who may presently lack significant people in their lives apart from staff and
substitute decision makers.
The DM Facilitation Team will form part of the Ability Links NSW team at the St Vincent de Paul Society
NSW. Ability Links NSW is a key foundation in the NSW Government’s plan to reshape and improve the
way people with disability, their families and carers in NSW are supported by placing them at the centre of
decision-making.
Duties and Responsibilities
1.
Gain knowledge and expertise in the application of supports for decision making and develop
necessary capabilities, through participating in formal training opportunities, mentoring, and
facilitating implementation.
2.
Identify and facilitate decision making support with people with disability, their families, friends and
carers, including providing small group and 1:1 facilitation and coaching.
3.
Provide support, information, education and guidance about the project and support for decision
making to people with disability, families, friends and carers, the ‘supporter’ of the person with a
disability.
4.
Assisting with the documentation of important decisions and preferences, including the processes
leading to a decision being made.
5.
Engage in activities to enlist and develop supporters for people who may presently lack such
supports.
6.
Develop peer relationships with other Supported Decision Making facilitators (within St Vincent de
Paul Society and other agencies) to enable collaborative and supportive delivery of decision making
support.
7.
Participate in the development of data collection systems to meet project and organisational
requirements.
8.
Liaise with the planners working on behalf of the National Disability Insurance Agency in relation to
pre- planning preparation of NDIS participants at the Kanangra Centre.
9.
Participate in and contribute to evaluation activities coordinated by ADHC and external evaluators.
10. Active participation in Ability Links NSW staff network meetings and forums, and in peer and
individual supervision processes.
Essential Selection Criteria

A belief in the rights of all people with an intellectual disability to exercise choice and control in
decision making, together with a positive view of the ability of all people to exercise those rights with
support.

Relevant qualifications and/or work experience in human services, especially with people with
disability

Demonstrated ability to develop strong relationships based on open communication, respect and trust
with people with disability, their family members, staff and other supporters.
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Decision Making Facilitator
– Position Description February 2015

Openness to people’s choices and preferences, with the ability to consider different approaches and
support options to meet people’s needs.

A high level of self awareness, with the ability to recognise personal values and interests and how
these may influence decision making support.

Lived experience and/or sound understanding of the issues facing people with disability, their carers
and families.

Demonstrated interpersonal skills, flexibility and excellent written and verbal communication skills,
including a demonstrated ability to collaborate, problem solve and negotiate.

Current valid driver’s licence

Willingness to adhere to and support the mission, values and ethos of the St Vincent de Paul Society
The St Vincent de Paul Society is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer
We strongly encourage applications from people with disability, Aboriginal applicants and people from
culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
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