Authorised Program Officer - Restrictive Practices
Permanent Full Time – VIC or SA
Location: SA: Adelaide, VIC: Dandenong, VIC: Sunshine, VIC: Melbourne
Reference #: 504404
Closing Date: 14-03-2025
About the Organisation:
Make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable Australians with this unique opportunity to provide both corporate expertise and community support. With a focus on people, not profit, Life Without Barriers corporate services team partners with our direct support staff, clients, and their families to ensure we continue our mission to change lives for the better. Life Without Barriers is a leading social purpose organisation of 8,000 employees working in more than 500 communities across Australia. We support children, young people and families, people with disability, older people, and people with mental illness. We work with people who are homeless and refugees and asylum seekers. Join a community of people dedicated to breaking down barriers.
We want to employ people who reflect the diversity of our clients to ensure we can support each client's individual needs and wants. We encourage people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and people with disability to apply.
About the Role:
This role reports to the Director, National Complaints and DMH Safeguarding, within the National Safeguarding Unit. You will play a key role in the restrictive practice authorisation scheme and will be LWB's delegate for the authorisation of restrictive practices in the relevant jurisdictions. Adhering to national and state requirements and ensuring that restrictive practices are only authorised where appropriate behaviour assessment, support and interventions have been demonstrated, and the restrictive practice is included in a Behaviour Support Plan.
This is a permanent full-time role, preferred location is Victoria or South Australia; however, applicants in other locations will be considered.
Key Responsibilities:
* Perform the relevant Authorised Program Officer (APO) legislative requirements and authorise regulated restrictive practice in accordance with the legislative requirements.
* Ensure behaviour support plans detail the least restrictive practice option with an aim to reduce and eliminate restrictive practice where possible.
* Meet any training and reporting requirements for APOs.
* Develop, implement and support processes to ensure compliance with relevant legislation, policy, directions and data systems when reviewing and authorising regulated restrictive practices.
* Undertake thematic analysis of behaviour support plans and restrictive practices, identifying trends and patterns to support improving client outcomes.
* Establish and provide data and reports.
* Work collaboratively with behaviour support practitioners to ensure quality behaviour support plans are provided that LWB is able to implement to provide great outcomes for our clients.
Skills & Experience:
* Tertiary qualification relevant to allied health, nursing, education, or a disability-specific or behaviour-specific discipline.
* Extensive experience and understanding of restrictive practices, legislation, the NDIS Practice Standards and positive behaviour support planning.
* Extensive experience and knowledge in the planning, development, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring of behaviour interventions and supports.
* Comprehensive working knowledge of relevant legislation including the NDIS (Restrictive Practices and Behaviour Support) Rules 2018, the National Framework for Reducing and Eliminating the use of Restrictive Practices in the Disability Service Sector (2014) and local jurisdictional legislation regarding restrictive practice authorisation.
* Knowledge of or experience in the assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation of restrictive practices in the context of positive behaviour support plans with a commitment to human rights, person-centred thinking principles and continuous improvement.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
* Familiar with trauma-informed practices, client-centred approaches and the impact of colonisation and systemic racism for Aboriginal people.
* Sound understanding of child development and developmental trauma.
Successful candidates will be required to clear probity checks including National Criminal History Record Check and Working with Children Check (where relevant to the role).
Benefits:
Join one of Australia's largest social purpose organisations. Permanent full-time location preferred VIC; however, can be located NSW, QLD or VIC. Monthly rostered days off and salary packaging benefits.
How to Apply:
Include your resume and covering letter in one document, click Apply and follow the prompts. For any enquiries including persons with disability that require adjustments, contact Debra Neil at .
Applications close at midnight on Monday 27th January 2025.
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