Aboriginal Disability Liaison Officer

Aboriginal Disability Liaison Officer

Nunkuwarrin Yunti, the foremost Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation in Adelaide aims to promote and deliver improvement in the health and wellbeing of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families in the greater metropolitan areas of Adelaide and regional areas to advance their social, cultural and economic status. The Organisation places a strong focus on a client centered approach to the delivery of services and a collaborative working culture to achieve the best possible outcomes for clients.

Nunkuwarrin Yunti is a Child Safe Organisation.

The primary role of the Aboriginal Disability Liaison Officer (ADLO) includes, and is not limited to: 

• provide outreach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in a culturally sensitive manner, breaking down barriers to accessing the NDIS and developing trust and rapport.
• link potential Participants to their PITC and/or Customer, including through online platforms and resources.
• support potential Participants and their representatives to attend appointments to get functional assessments and other evidence for access requests.
• linking potential Participants to their PITC or Customer to help complete Access Request Forms (ARF), Verbal Access Request (VAR) and psychosocial Disabilities evidence forms.
• supporting potential participants in obtaining updates with respect to submitted forms from the relevant PITC and/or Customer.
• linking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are not eligible for NDIS to community mainstream supports and/or refer them to their PITC to support linkages to the community and mainstream supports.
• supporting Participant handover to PITC and/or NDIA by:

1. assisting participants or potential Participants build a positive relationship with local PITC and/or the NDIA.
2. supporting local PITC and/or the NDIA to understand the needs and circumstances of Participants or potential Participants.
3. working together with PITC and/or the NDIA to develop trust and rapport with the Participants or potential Participants; and
4. supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Participants and their representatives to link positively with PITC and/or the NDIA.

The ADLOs also perform collaboration activities including:

• working collaboratively with already existing NDIA community engagement activities, including but not limited to:
  1. community and mainstream engagement activities
  2. ILC grant recipients
  3. Health Liaison Officers
  4. Justice Liaison Officers
  5. Remote Community Connectors, and
  6. Partners in the Community.
• Protection of all data acquired as part of this service delivery, from unauthorised access or use by a third party and from misuse, damage or destruction, including protective measures to avoid misuse

ESSENTIAL – includes qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge

• Tertiary qualifications with a minimum of a Certificate IV in Disability, Mental Health or Community Services or equivalent demonstrated knowledge and experience
• Experience working with people with a disability and their support networks
• Demonstrated experience engaging and supporting clients and their families to enable them to understand new information and make informed decisions
• Demonstrated experience in managing competing priorities and to deliver outcomes within agreed timeframes and quality standards
• A sound understanding of person-centred thinking, the principles of the NDIS and the National Disability Service Standards
• Demonstrate ability to manage, facilitate, promote and evaluate programs and events including meetings, training and community programs
• Comprehensive understanding of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues
• Community Engagement experience with Aboriginal people
• Well-developed communication skills including the ability to communicate effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and be able to work in a manner which takes into account community kinship systems
• Ability to liaise and form working partnerships with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to demonstrate initiative and co-ordination skills
• Capacity to work under pressure to meet required timelines
• Competent with computers, especially word-processing and database software 
• Awareness of the need for, and means of maintaining confidentiality
• Able and willing to undertake skills enhancement training and engage in professional development opportunities

DESIRABLE

• Diploma in Community Services, Degree / Grad Certificate in Social Work, Cert IV in Community Development or related areas and / or demonstrated experience of disability and community sector work or Certificate IV Aboriginal Primary Health Care
• Experience working within an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service or Primary Health Care setting 
• Understanding of the National Disability Sector 
• Experience with co-design and co-delivery of communication strategies to promote service engagement  
• Experience in continuous quality improvement activities including clinical file auditing