Specialist Disability Support Practitioner

Established in 1979, Mallee Family Care is a place-based agency delivering 70+ programs and services to meet the diverse needs of our community, across a catchment area of more than 160,000 km².

If you’re passionate about improving outcomes in the lives of children, families and individuals, and in building stronger communities, we would like to hear from you.

Mallee Family Care supports professional development and offers generous salary packaging and paid placements where appropriate.

We are committed to building an organisation that reflects the diversity of the communities we support.

As an Equal Opportunity employer, we invite applications from people of all walks of life. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), LGBTQIA+, and people living with a disability are encouraged to apply for our roles.

Position Objectives 

The transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has represented a significant shift in the way supports are provided to people with disability. While the NDIS represents a powerful opportunity to support parents and children with disability, the complexity of accessing and navigating the scheme can leave vulnerable families at risk of scheme exclusion or from optimising the funded disability supports they are entitled to receive to meet their disability related needs.

The Specialist Disability Support Practitioner role will provide case managed assistance to children and parents with disabilities to build their capacity, connect and access disability supports and participate effectively in the NDIS.  The role is also designed to build both disability and NDIS expertise across the Child and Family Services system.

The key focus of the Specialist Disability Support Practitioner role is to support vulnerable families to access and actively engage with supports and skill development opportunities to support their families’ disability needs, particularly those available through the NDIS. The role has the responsibilities of supporting families with NDIS access and participation, and assisting families to navigate systems of disability support, including the NDIS, disability advocates, disability service providers and mainstream services. 

A secondary focus of the role is also to provide disability-related case consultations to the broader Child and Family Services system within the Mallee area, with the aim of supporting practitioners working in Child and Family Services to maximise disability supports and improve outcomes available through the NDIS for families where there is a disability. 

This role supports targets families with children newborn to 18 years living in the Mildura LGA in the Mallee and works within the context of the Mallee Child and Family Services Alliance, which is an alliance of seven agencies and DFFH.  Most referrals for this service will be sourced through the Orange Door, which is the central intake point for families needing assistance with the care and wellbeing of children in the Mallee.

Fixed Term until 30 June 2028

Position Description Specialist Disability Support Practitioner July 26

Qualifications and Experience:

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Social Work, Psychology, Disability, Early Childhood Specialist and / or related behavioural sciences at degree level or associate diploma level with substantial experience in the relevant service stream.
• Diploma level qualification in relevant field may be considered, on the proviso that the applicant will commit to undertake further Tertiary studies with the support of the Organisation.
• A current driver’s licence and a willingness to travel and preparedness to be accommodated overnight when required.

For you to be considered for this role, all applications must be submitted with a Cover Letter, Resume and the Key Selection Criteria addressed, which can be found in the position description.
For more information regarding this position please contact Maree Fullgrabe – Human Resource Manager on 5023 5966