Yooralla’s services in the Barwon region

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is exciting for people with disability and their families.

The NDIS is a national scheme designed to improve disability services in Australia and will ensure people with disability have greater choice and control in the development of their support packages.

Since 1918, Yooralla has been providing people with disability with the support and services they need to achieve participation, inclusion and independence. Yooralla has worked hard to make the NDIS a reality and is excited to provide services as part of the NDIS trial in Barwon.

Yooralla is a registered provider in the Barwon NDIS trial site and with a comprehensive range of services and resources, Yooralla is able to work with customers to develop supports and services designed to meet a range of needs across all ages and disability.

Yooralla provides support services in the Barwon NDIS trial site for individuals, both adults and children, as well as their families.

Our services cover:

  • therapy
  • assistive technology
  • social and community participation.

Yooralla also assists in the coordination of support packages.

Therapy

The innovative approach of Yooralla’s therapy services results in demonstrated outcomes increasing the independence and wellbeing of children and adults with disability. Yooralla therapists support customers to enhance their quality of life by:

  • working alongside customers to enhance communication opportunities
  • supporting customers to identify and work towards life goals
  • increasing customers’ capacity to engage in everyday activities
  • supporting enhanced mobility and access to local community. .

Yooralla empowers customers with information and shared expertise to explore options and make choices about the therapy services they receive.

Therapists support customers at home, work, in educational settings and in the community, to increase skills and capacity in the following three key areas of therapy:

  • physiotherapy - supporting people to improve movement and function, and to be more physically independent
  • occupational therapy - to build daily living and work skills, and
  • speech pathology - to build capacity to overcome communication barriers and maximise eating and swallowing options.
Therapy support for children

Yooralla provides support to children and families through early childhood transdisciplinary packagesand individual therapy plans for school-aged children.

Based on what families request, they are matched to a key worker. Key workers are therapists who support each family to identify the goals they have for their child and family and to develop plans for achieving these goals. Key workers provide support at home and in community settings, as children move through childcare, kindergarten and school. With significant expertise in therapy and skill building, Yooralla key workers support families to maximise outcomes for their child and enhance their abilities.

Assistive technology

Yooralla’s assistive technology team provides services that enhance independence and build capacity by providing information about assistive technologies and equipment. By providing expert advice based on goals identified by customers, we can assist customers to make informed choices about equipment and technology to meet their needs.

Equipment to enhance independence may include equipment in the home; mobility equipment, such as wheelchairs; environmental controls, or recommendations related to the built environment.

Assistive technology can also include advice and support in using specialised devices and mainstream tablets, smart phones and apps for communication, education and work.

In particular, our services include:

  • therapists who can provide information, advice and training on assistive and communication technologies such as speech generating devices, switch access, software to support literacy, computer access and environmental controls
  • supporting people who have no speech, or speech that is difficult to understand, to buy speech generating devices and software, and
  • an equipment library that provides short term loans of equipment for children and adults with disability.

Yooralla’s Electronic Communication Devices Scheme is the only in-kind provider of communication devices for NDIS participants in Victoria.

Social and community participation

Yooralla provides extensive opportunities for building social connections in the community through a range of individualised and group activities for people of all ages and interests.

Activities can be designed to meet individual goals or be offered as group options for participation. They may be fun, adventurous or relaxing. Activities can be offered at a time and in a venue that meets the needs of the individual, dependent on the goals and outcomes identified in their plan.

Yooralla runs regular group sessions, camps, workshops and courses by engaging the community and by providing specific programs for people with disability. Some of the favourite activities include surfing, abseiling, swimming, fitness class, bowling, tennis, gardening, going to the movies or to the footy.

The Yooralla recreation team can also support families with their holiday plans from a weekend away to a few months travelling. Individual respite options based at home or in the community can also be supported.

Contact us

Yooralla will continue to provide support to customers throughout the transition.

For more information on the NDIS at Yooralla, please contact us on 1800 966 725 or visit

To contact the NDIS, please call 1800 800 110 or visit

Need language help?

Contact the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 13 14 50