Organisation: Disability Services Commission
Job Title: Local Area Supervisor
Word Limit: 3 pages maximum
Location: Perth
Essential: Certificate IV in Disability work or qualifications deemed equivalent
I currently hold the required Certificate IV qualification in Disability work and I am happy to provide
evidence of such as requested.
Essential: Significant experience in the delivery of service to people with disabilities including
individual planning and the fostering of family relationships
In my current role as Acting Local Area Supervisor for the past two years, and my previous role as a
Direct Care Worker, I have gained extensive experience in the delivery of services to people with
disabilities. This has included the implementation of planning and setting goals for individuals, as well
as working and liaising with their families to ensure that high quality care is being provided.
One recent example of my ability to plan and implement involves an individual who was being cared
for by us, but who was becoming quite old and frail. I was concerned that the man was starting to
require more assistance than it was in our capacity to deliver and needed to be moved to an aged care
facility instead. To start the process, I gained referrals from his Doctor and specialists, and commenced
a dialogue with the man’s guardian, The Public Trustee.
Having put my planning in place and having gained referrals from healthcare professionals, I
commenced the process of instigating a move for this man. The guardian and I found a position for the
man within an aged care facility which was appropriate for the man’s needs, and I liaised with them to
transfer him over. There were very little concerns or complications within the process and given the
man’s behaviours due to his disability had significantly mellowed over the years, he could be cared for
like any other aged care resident. After communicating with the aged care facility about the man’s
character, medication requirements and management issues, the man was successfully transferred to
the new facility.
Desirable: Knowledge and experience in practical application of Periodic Service Review and
Competency Based Training
The Periodic Service Review is no longer applicable to my role; however I have demonstrated
knowledge and experience in the application of competency-based training and in ensuring that all
staff are trained and up-to-date in their knowledge. Training for staff, which they are required to both
attend and keep up-to-date with, includes meal time management, first aid, medication training,
supervision and personal safety, along with a range of other competencies required in our workplace.
Put simply, staff must have their core training up-to-date and my role is to monitor this and remind
staff of their obligations.
In my current role, we have our own learning management system where I can ensure that I am
informed of the staff members that are required to update their training. This allows me to remind
them to enter the learning management system and enrol themselves, or I can enrol them into training
if they have not done it by a certain date. Staff are provided with every opportunity to maintain their
own professional development and are expected to ensure that they have completed the relevant
courses in a reasonable timeframe, otherwise they are not strictly qualified to perform their role.
Around one month ago, I encountered a situation where I had reminded a staff member to enrol to
update their training in a certain area. I had followed this up with an email a few weeks later, once
again reminding them, but had not had any evidence that they had enrolled. I then spoke to the staff
member who told me that actually had enrolled. I informed them that the professional development
department had not supplied me with their enrolment details and could they supply me with evidence
of enrolment. A few days later, the staff member did actually supply me with their evidence in the
form of an email and I was able to ensure that their information was updated on the system.
As per staff, I am additionally required to ensure that my own training is updated regularly and I like to
practise what I preach. As a supervisor, in addition to core training, I have undertaken person-centred
training that coached me on aspects of individual lifestyle reviews for individuals with a disability. This
includes involving the person, their families or carers, as well as myself to review the person’s lifestyle
and goals. All stakeholders have an input into this process, which can become quite complex, and
together we plan and monitor the individual’s activities and lifestyle to ensure that they are getting the
most from it.
My resume contains a list of the recent professional learning activities I have been involved in.
Essential: Sound knowledge and understanding of network and relationship building with the local
community
Networking and relationship building are vitally important within the local community if we are going
to change society’s attitudes around people with a disability. Within my role, I liaise with a broad range
of non-Government organisations (NGOs) in order to facilitate the work and recreational needs of
individuals in our care. This involves ensuring that individuals get out into the community and by doing
so, this will hopefully make them more accepted as a result.
Within my role, I ensure that I foster and maintain good rapport with the NGOs in order to obtain
feedback on how participants are going in their outings and work responsibilities. It is additionally
important to match the NGO with the individual to ensure that they are going to be a good match, in
terms of whom and what they are offering.
An example of my ability to facilitate people with a disability to be part of their community and to live
their lives contentedly occurred in relation to a man who was working in a supportive workplace, and
was approaching retirement age. To move the man into retirement, there was a transition process
where the he retired from his workplace and we were then required to match him with an NGO, which
would provide more leisure-based activities, so he could enjoy his retirement. Based on his needs and
individual planning and in conjunction with the man’s family, we made changes for the next 12 months
and he was successfully able to transition through this part of his life.
In assuming a carer role for people with a disability, I am required to develop relationships with a
broad range of community organisations and Councils, in addition to religious organisations in some
cases. In one instance, the family of an individual in our care wanted him to be able to spend some
time in their church. This was facilitated through liaison with the church and his carers, around the
best time to aid their request and to monitor how it was going. This became a regular part of the
man’s routine and resulted in a successful and peaceful time for him.
The local Council is an entity that I am required to develop relationships with, including finding out
about their public events and activities that might be of interest to our participants. Usually, with
activities that are run during the week, with less people attending, the facilitators are quite happy to
include us, and the participants have gained a lot from activities such as swimming, craft workshops,
walking, dancing and painting, in addition to many other activities. Recently I have been involved in a
gym program where students of Central TAFE who are studying to become instructors, spent time
working with people with a disability. This involved the students producing a program for the
participants, taking into consideration any physical limitations, and instructing and assisting the
individual to move through the program. Overwhelmingly, the TAFE students have been a fantastic
resource for participants and have grown themselves, in addition to learning a great deal about
working positively with people with a disability.
Essential: Sound understanding of the principles of team and practice leadership, and staff
development and supervision
Within my current role as Local Area Supervisor, I have worked hard to ensure that my relationship
with staff is a positive one. I am open and transparent and believe in being up front. I have
demonstrated leaderships through respect of individual staff and leading by example, as well as
advocating for staff when required. However, I also expect staff to be able to fulfil their roles
effectively and approach me if they are experiencing any issues, so they can be sorted out and moved
on from. On one occasion, there was an issue with a staff member taking excessive days off as sick
leave and not providing any evidence of an issue. I spoke to the staff member and explained why the
evidence was required. Once this was forthcoming, I was then able to support the person through a
block of planned leave, a referral to our employee assistance program and general day-to-day support.
Every month, I hold a house meeting where staff are asked to contribute dialogue regarding their carer
roles and any issues or solutions that they have come up with which they can share with others. In
addition, I try to be mindful of each staff member’s differences, including cultural differences, which
can make for a diverse understanding of their roles. As a result, I can coach and mentor staff if I think
that they require a little assistance in their understanding of their roles as carers. I respect all staff, talk
to them in a way that shows this respect and as a result, gain respect back from them as well.
Teamwork is something that I highly encourage with staff, particularly as they generally work in pairs
during the daytime hours. It is important that they work as a team, not only for efficiency reasons, but
also to ensure that a positive environment is fostered for the people that they are caring for.
Desirable: Understanding of EEO, OHS and risk management principles and practices
Possessing a strong working understanding of EEO, OHS and risk management principles, including the
Equal employment Opportunity Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, I appreciate that
these are issues that can affect workers every day within the workplace. As mentioned, I work and care
for a broad diversity of people from different backgrounds and cultures, and have been successful in
my role for some time. I very much believe in equal opportunity for all, including people with a
disability.
Recently, I have been involved in a quality evaluation of one of our houses where another supervisor
went on leave and I was required to fill in for them. The private organisation running the evaluation
contacted the individuals at the house and their families first and then met with us and the family
together. Within this meeting, the whole lifestyle of the individual was reviewed, including the
appropriateness of the facilities to be safe and healthy. Subsequent to answering all of the questions
from the reviewers, they reported back with their evaluation, ensuring that everything was in order.
Furthermore, I was commended for my assistance on the day, as well as my strong knowledge of
legislation and regulations.
