Tender for Disability Advice and Response Team (DART)

Applications for tender submissions opened for the new DART initiative under the Children’s Court of Victoria on 28 September. DART will support the government’s broader reform agenda to achieve transformative equality for people with disability.

The tender is seeking the engagement of disability service providers to deliver in-person advice and support at the Children’s Court of Victoria with a focus on identifying young people with disability and responding to their disability related support needs, with the aim of diverting young people with disability away from the criminal justice system and into community-based supports.

A key component of DART will be a specialist response to Aboriginal young people with disability and their families at Children’s Koori Court, including at Marram-Ngala Ganbu (Koori Family Hearing Days). The engagement of an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation/s will be preferred for this component of the program.

Any questions about this tender can be directed to Duane Peterson, Senior Procurement Officer, Department of Justice, duane.peterson@justice.vic.gov.au. Other enquiries can be directed to the NDIS, Disability and Justice Interface Team at ndisjustice@justice.vic.gov.au

View tender on the Victorian Government website: Tender ATN 007/22-23

Community Fellows Program, Melbourne Social Equity Institute

NDS members may be interested in participating in the Community Fellows Program hosted by the University of Melbourne’s Social Equity Institute. Community-based organisations participating in the program can receive grants of $7,000 in compensation for their participation in research projects.

The Community Fellows will collaborate with the University on small research-based projects, and in return receive mentoring, research training, access to hot desk and University library facilities. Programs will commence in February 2023.

Further information is available on the University of Melbourne website at Community Fellows Program page and a video recording from the recent information session includes information about the fellowship structure and application tips. Applications for the 2023 program close on Monday 17 October 2022 at 5.00pm (AEDT).

Scholarships for Mental Health Workforce

The Victorian government is offering scholarships to train and upskill a range of workers in the mental health workforce. These are being administered by the Australian College of Nursing. Scholarship applications are now open for semester one 2023. Visit the Australian College of Nursing website for more information

Free Online Voter Education via the Victorian Electoral Commission

The Victorian Electoral Commission is hosting free online education sessions about elections, including sessions targeted at people with disability from linguistically diverse communities.

Sessions are delivered by people with lived experience and can be provided in many community languages. For more information, including how to register please book a free information session.