Covid 19 – How to Guide for Participants

• NDIS fact sheet- Outbreak Preparedness, prevention & Management https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/document/2076 
• NDIS Quality & Safeguards Commission Website – Covid 19 Fact Sheets  https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/resources/fact-sheets#covid-19 
• Please read up to date information on COVID test and isolate national protocols. 
• COVID-19 Planning Resource for People with Disability (Australia). https://collaborating4inclusion.org/home/covid-19-person-centred-emergency-preparedness/ 

COVID has added to the complexity of supporting people in the hospital, so it can be reassuring for everyone to have developed a health passport or health information form. Now is a good time to support people in developing a health passport for hospital visits. There are a number of resources available to help with this, many of which have been collated by the Summer Foundation  and IDEAS. Hospitals probably won’t care what template you use, and some of the options include: 

• Admission 2 Discharge resources. 
• Julian’s Key Trial by the Government of Queensland. 
• Bendigo Hospital’s passport. 
• The Department of Health’s Companion Card Information Sheet. 
• Council for Intellectual Disability, My Health Matters Folder – https://cid.org.au/resource/my-health-matters-folder/ 
• The Black Dog Institute has developed free resources to help people manage stress and anxiety during COVID. 
• COVID-19 hospital companion for people with disability – https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-hospital-companion-for-people-with-disability 
• Disability Services Consulting Supporting People to Stay Infection Free; https://teamdsc.com.au/learning/supporting-people-to-stay-infection-free 

Setup an account with a provider i.e., PPE Tech, Homemed below & make an order – they will send invoice to plan manager who will pay – item delivered to you. 

• For supports delivered between 29 July 2020 and 28 February 2021, the price limit for this support was $50 per participant per worker per day, as per NDIS Covid Addendum https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements 
• What’s the difference between masks? https://www.medcart.com.au/blog/what-s-the-difference-between-n95-kn95-p2-and-ffp2 

Online PPE Suppliers

• https://ppetech.com.au/ 
• www.themedicalstore.com.au 
• https://homemed.com.au/4-ply-disposable-respirator-p2-masks-50-pack/ 
• https://www.medcart.com.au/blog/what-s-the-difference-between-n95-kn95-p2-and-ffp2 

Not funded by NDIS as The National Cabinet has agreed that concession card holders can access up to 10 free tests over three months. However, that avenue will not be available until 24 January available through your local Pharmacy. 

• Approved Rapid Antigen Test’s in Australia https://www.tga.gov.au/covid-19-rapid-antigen-self-tests-are-approved-australia 

Online Suppliers

• https://www.healthylife.com.au/shop/products/2san-covid-rapid-antigen-test-1?variant=42279789330619 
• https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/blog/what-are-covid-19-rapid-antigen-tests 
• Aussie company selling RATS– https://rapidtestsaustralia.com/cart/ 

• NDS’s Coronavirus hub is a collection of resources, information and advice from across Australian governments, agencies and our members. We urge all providers to stay abreast of information, noting that advice may change as the situation develops. https://www.nds.org.au/item/coronavirus-covid-19 
• Resources produced by The Growing Space to help understand how best to protect people with disabilities and their families. No membership subscription to our website is required to access these. https://www.thegrowingspace.com.au/covid19/ 
• With the surge of COVID-19, Ricardo prepared a video and an exposure assessment to help you understand the actual impact of coronavirus in your project, initiative or product development. https://ricardo-vargas.com/special-projects/covid19/ 
• Supports in the time of COVID https://teamdsc.com.au/resources/supports-in-the-time-of-covid?_kx=f5D0ydxWY9v_–Mw_ZxBFvgtMsikf0l9tUnqzOhP5LI5jBJ3KC7cYsp5lLbArpEq.X8eRsJ 

• The Growing Space has developed a guide to making a Covid Ready Kit for NDIS participants. 
• IDEAS has collated a bunch of Easy Read Resources on COVID-related topics.

The rules around workforce and close contacts seem to be changing every five minutes, so providers also need to ascertain whether their support workers can legally do a shift.  

On 13 January, the National Cabinet agreed that disability support workers and other essential workers who are close contacts can continue working if they follow this link. 

https://www.nds.org.au/news/national-covid-19-update-disability-workers-confirmed-as-essential-workers?_cldee=am9AYXVyb3JhY29vcmRpbmF0aW9uLmNvbS5hdQ%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-b7fb55ef4b80e91180da005056ac7853-9f01ac197ecb4e1280d0e2207e3bed3b&esid=c71820d3-dd74-ec11-8100-005056ac7853 

• Claim for Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment form (EM252) https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/em252?fbclid=IwAR3fvzQz2tujkULvo2mqyn-SWSrKsnEsgm3jonPNjltAUNBlm-3vX6OL5bA 

• Apply for the Test and Isolate support payment https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-test-and-isolate-support-payment?fbclid=IwAR2nF-w8i3mLloIuTeRsYT_6ITKoQQTC3jj9Z8GkKh5hu1gwew8JD1J3HAI 

• The NDIS will fund a Deep Clean if a Support Worker tests positive until 6 February 2022 up to $300 max. as per the Covid Addendum. https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements