Bunbury AtoZ makes improvements with NDIS

Earlier this month, the AtoZ Bunbury Improvement Team* held a roundtable with The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to learn how to help people experiencing homelessness apply for and access NDIS funds.

Tasha Kernohan, Local Community Coordinator for Bunbury’s AtoZ Improvement Team, said the roundtable was the result of an identified common challenge when it came to helping people experiencing homelessness apply for and/or access their NDIS funding.

“In some instances, clients living with a disability require more assistance to complete the application,” she said.

“They may need additional time, transportation or literacy aids. And sometimes clients may have culturally specific needs,” she added.

The purpose of the roundtable was for service organisations to gain a better understanding of the NDIS application process, troubleshoot roadblocks and network to pool resources.

“There were a lot of people swapping emails, making connections and smoothing out the kinks in a very complex system,” Kernohan said.

An example of this was seen through the introduction of the Southwest Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS), who have developed culturally appropriate ways of connecting with Aboriginal people.

As an additional point of contact, along with the resources SWAMS provides, service organisations have other options to present to Aboriginal clients, something that may have been difficult before.

The Bunbury Improvement Team are working together on several other initiatives with the goal of making a collective impact on ending homelessness. These initiatives include: working on collaborative approaches to better support people over 55 years of age experiencing homelessness; using health data to inform actions; working with Accordwest as the backbone organization for the Bunbury AtoZ team.

“If we can all work together, we can make a difference,” said Kernohan.

“We might not be able to fix everything right away, but we can focus our efforts on one small step at a time,” She said.

*The Bunbury Improvement Team is comprised of individuals from the following service organisations committed to ending homelessness through collaborative efforts: WA Country Health Service (WACHS), City of Bunbury, South West Local Jobs, Accordwest, The Salvation Army, Anglicare, Intown Lunch Centre, Dr. Sue Chapman, Department of Housing and Works, Milligans

14/04/2026 Advance to ZeroNewsNews and EventsTrainingWAAEH