NDIA

Facilitation

Issue:
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) acknowledged there was a strategic organisational chasm in relation to managing and leading on matters of cultural and linguistic diversity within the agency and the NDIS, leading to the co-design of the Managing Diversity Statement.

DiverseWerks were also asked to support the development and implementation of a CALD Responsiveness Strategy for the NDIS. Subsequently, the NDIA also convened a broad-based roundtable with CALD disability advocacy organisations around Australia to re-position CALD issues within the NDIS.

Solution:
The Managing Diversity Statement was co-designed by the leadership team of the NDIA, with assistance from DiverseWerks. The approach for the project included:

The development of a workshop with an NDIA working group to draft the initial statement;
Conducting internal interviews with NDIA leadership and key stakeholders to gain feedback on the relevancy of the statement; and
The production of a final draft statement for endorsement by NDIA senior leadership.

The CALD Responsiveness Strategy was a collaborative process between the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) and DiverseWerks. Tasks included the development and maintenance of a reference group, including providing support, advice and secretariat functions. We also held a roundtable which was a significant initiative that had set an ongoing agenda focused on making the NDIS both relevant and responsive to the needs of CALD people with a disability, their family and carers.

Results:
The Managing Diversity Statement is the articulation of the NDIA's commitment to building the internal skills and capacity to deliver culturally responsive practice and service delivery.

DiverseWerks' ongoing role was to work with the NDIA on the implementation and realisation of the strategy.