Sam was referred to VALID by their friend who was shocked to discover that after having a NDIS plan for seven months, Sam had not been supported to access any services. As Sam lives alone in regional Victoria this meant he relied on his friends and neighbors to go grocery shopping, attend appointments, and access the community.
Sam was unable to connect with services independently and he did not receive funding from the NDIS for a support coordinator. This meant it was the responsibility of his Local Area Coordinators to help him.
When VALID started working with Sam he explained that every time he called his Local Area Coordinator, he was assigned to someone else. Or that the person meant to be supporting him was not available. This left Sam feeling frustrated, angry, like no one cared, and that he had been forgotten.
Sam and his advocate worked together to hold his local area coordinator to account. They let them know that the way they treated him was unacceptable and that they had failed in their responsibility to connect him with services.
Sam was supported by his advocate to research service providers in his area. They soon found a couple that ticked all his boxes. Sam is happy to report that he is now receiving the support he needs and deserves.
Sam had great self-advocacy skills to begin with and with the support of his advocate he was able to put them into action and achieve a good result.
If you or anyone you know is in a similar circumstance here are some options, you can try.
- Send a complaint directly to the service provider. Tell them what has gone wrong and what changes you expect them to make.
- Submit a complaint to the NDIS Quality and Safeguard Commission here
- If your complaint is about the NDIS, you can submit a complaint here
- Talk to your family or friend
- Talk to an advocate