Langwarrin Hub FAQ’s

A: 16 May 2025 

There are a variety of options when it comes to personal care: 

We know that there are many people who need to be hoisted during personal care time. As such, using Changing Places facilities that are secure, clean and appropriate, especially when enjoying community activities, could be an option. 

We know that not all Changing Places are clean and safe. We also know that not all community facilities are fully accessible. As such, we’ve heard that we may need to create a customised, mobile personal care facility which we can use to get personal care to those who need it. 

Where a community venue isn’t accessible and a mobile solution is needed, we may be able to hire a Changing Places facility for that venue. 

We’re aware that easy access to safe, clean and appropriate personal care facilities when and where they’re needed is critical. As such, accessing services that have existing personal care facilities (such as rehabilitation services) may be an option. 

Exploring mobile hoisting and personal care equipment that can be used and stored in community facilities may also be an option. We may be able to have several available at satellite sites, or in program venues as needed. 

 We will retain our existing hoists and equipment and may be able to install them (and any new equipment needed) in community facilities. 

We acknowledge that we don’t know what this will look like yet, but we do have strategies, and we want to talk to each person and their family/care team about them.  

We’re aware that this is a particular area of worry for many. And we want to assure you that we understand why this causes concern – we know how difficult it is to find safe, clean and dignified changing rooms in the community. This means we’re extremely conscious that any facilities we use are appropriate. We promise that we won’t take shortcuts. Any personal care will be done in a space that is properly equipped, safe, clean and dignified. 

We also promise that we will work with each person we support and their family/care team on a unique, tailored solution that meets their individual needs. This means that there’s unlikely to be a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to personal care. We want to make sure that we are supporting each person in the way they need to be supported. 

A: 21 March 2025 

That’s a great point and one that we definitely need to keep front of mind. We know there’s lots of work to do around transport, particularly because many are experiencing challenges with funding for this. 

We will work with all people we support and their professional care team (allied health, taxi services etc) to make sure that the support they’re receiving is what they need, those external services can deliver in a different way and that it’s possible within the resources available in their organisation and within each person’s NDIS plan.   

A: 16 May 2025 

Refer to Question 1 for information about personal care. 

We’ve heard that people with high support needs, those that are aging, have health issues and strong likes and dislikes will likely need a satellite facility available that they can access throughout the day and return to at any point. As a result, we may hire a few facilities to create ‘satellite hubs’ that are close to those people’s communities. 

Also, for those who want and need specific community programs (such as art therapy and sensory activities) but these are not readily available in the community, we’ve heard that we may need to hire a community venue to deliver those programs. 

Particularly for those with high-support needs, we’ve heard that it may help to explore partnerships with sensory rooms and gymnasiums so that we can find places where therapeutic exercises can be done. 

This is a critical part of the planning. Particularly in terms of personal care.  

We are committed to planning for each person’s individual needs. While there are several people we support who need amenities for their high support needs, a one-size fits all solution will not be appropriate. We want to make sure that we have a great solution for each person; not just one that’s ‘good enough’. 

As an example, we know that some public bathrooms may not be good enough. We also know that we need specialised equipment for some with significant personal care needs (such as a hoist). We will consider all the options so that we can discuss with each person and their family so that we can find the right solution. We welcome ideas and are keen to discuss what will work and won’t work for each person. 

A: 21 March 2025 

We still own a small fleet of buses for activity-based transport. But these buses are old, expensive to maintain and no longer fit for purpose. We’re also aware that it’s becoming more difficult for people supported to fund activity-based transport in NDIS plans.  

As such, we need to think about a person-by-person transport solution. And this would be the case even if we were not transitioning from Langwarrin.  

But, for any buses that we do retain after transition from Langwarrin we need to work together to find appropriate parking/storage for those buses.  

A: 21 March 2025 

We want to make sure that the people we support continue to socialise and enjoy friendships. As always, this needs to be managed appropriately so that everyone is safe and the group mix supports and encourages those friendships. 

As with all complex behaviours, we also need to make sure that we are using behaviour support practices which balance the need to keep everyone safe while restricting the individual as little as possible.  

Whether we have the Langwarrin site or not doesn’t change that focus. This is something that we manage every day. The strategies that we use aren’t dependent on a building. They depend on the training, support and performance of the professionals we employ to support the people with complex behaviours. 

While we still don’t know the specific answer to this, current thinking is that we’re unlikely to keep any, but recognise that we may need a small fleet of specialised vehicles for transporting people who need it. 

At this stage, we don’t know the answer to that.  

What we do know is that thoughts about our buses’ future isn’t caused by the transition from Langwarrin. Instead, we need to respond to an emerging issue caused by the NDIA reducing the funding available for transport in people’s NDIS plans, as well as the expense of owning and operating those vehicles ourselves. 

What we also know is that any buses we do keep need to be parked/stored appropriately in a new location (refer to Q4 for more information). 

A: 21 March 2025 

We agree that a priority in this transition is to keep the good things that came from having the Langwarrin property. This includes keeping friendships and making sure that people we support have somewhere to meet and socialise. 

That won’t change with this transition. The Day Service that we operate is a ‘Social Participation’ service. It focuses on bringing people together with their friends and enjoying fun activities together. 

We currently support many of those with a one to one team member without isolating them. This is because we already work hard to make sure that they connect with friends and socialise by finding opportunities to meet up and spend their day in each other’s company. This will continue and we are always mindful that those with one to one support need extra planning to develop their schedules to make sure that they have those opportunities to come together with others.  

A: 16 May 2025 

Refer to Question 1 for more information about personal care. 

We acknowledge that we don’t know what this will look like yet, but we do have strategies, and we want to talk to each person and their family/care team about them.  

We’re aware that this is a particular area of worry for many. And we want to assure you that we understand this and we’re extremely conscious that any facilities we use in future are appropriate. We promise that we won’t take shortcuts. Any personal care will be done in a space that is not only properly equipped, safe, clean and dignified, but also meets all quality safeguard requirements. We understand that in many cases, specialist equipment is needed (such as a hoist) and we will be working on how we access those pieces of equipment when we no longer have a building that we own. 

We also promise that we will work with each person we support and their family/care team on a unique, tailored plan that focuses on their needs. This means that there’s unlikely to be a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to personal care. We want to make sure that we are supporting each person in the way they need to be supported. 

A: 21 March 2025 

As far as we’re aware no. We should be able to take this equipment and install it somewhere else if we choose. 

A: 16 May 2025 

Refer to Question 3 for information about people with high support needs. 

For those without high support needs, they may not require as many places to transition to and from, and may be comfortable engaging in two or three community activities per day (as they do now). The main task will be to determine appropriate meeting places or transport arrangements for the day. 

We acknowledge that we don’t know for sure what this will look like yet, but we do have strategies, and we want to talk to you about them. 

But we know that being in the community 100% of the time doesn’t suit everyone. And nor should it. That’s not how people live their lives. It’s about balance. We recognise that the people we support will need places to relax, rest and to go when the weather is unfriendly. With your help, we will explore all the options over the next 18 months. Your feedback (positive and negative) is extremely important in getting this right. 

We have experience in this from when we transitioned from Cranbourne’s Day Service. At Cranbourne, the people we supported came together at the start of the day, grabbed a coffee and then began their community activities. Once we no longer had the building, we began by hiring a local community centre and meeting there. Then, as confidence grew, we started meeting in the community itself (at a coffee shop or at the activity itself). These are the sorts of solutions that we will explore with the people we support over the next 18 months. 

A: 17 March 2025 

We don’t currently have a reception at Langwarrin and because of its location, it doesn’t let people who want to explore services from MLV know that we’re here. 

What our community presence looks like (whether we have an office in another location) needs to be thought about in more detail and as part of a broader strategy. At this point, our focus is on transitioning from the Langwarrin site and looking after the people that we currently support. This means that we aren’t prioritising establishing another office reception just yet. 

In terms of a base of operations, this is always necessary. Again, while we don’t know exactly what that will look like, we know that we need to make sure we are clear on where all team members are, how to get in touch with one another, who to call when emergency support is needed and where to go when a contingency plan is needed. 

This emphasises the need for our team members to appropriately plan with the people we support. Planning together and considering what could go wrong and what may need to happen if things change is a critical part of the service that we provide. 

A: 21 March 202

We believe that is in the best interests of the people we support and our team members that we operate independently. As such, there are no mergers being considered at the moment. 

However, partnerships to share space is something that MLV is always open to and will explore over the next 18 months. 5 

A: 21 March 2025 

There are countless opportunities when we are no longer reliant on the Langwarrin site. By being more present in the community, we aim for the people we support to be more seen and valued in the community. We think that by having a greater community presence, more of those opportunities for work could present themselves. 

A: 21 March 2025 

The organisation has worked hard over the last 18 months to develop new products and services that meet the needs of not only the people we currently support, but young people with disabilities who are transitioning from school. These products and services have been developed under our ‘Meaningful Lives’ banner. Over the coming years, we will have our Social Participation Service (Day Service), In-Home Support Service (currently ISP) and three new Meaningful Lives services: Aspire (skills development and community capacity building), WorkLink: Internships (two-year pathway to employment) and WorkLink: Customised Employment. 

We’re aware that not every service suits everyone, so it’s important to have a variety of options available. We have developed ‘Meaningful Lives’ to be responsive to the needs of our community. As a result, we are developing products and services that support young people to develop skills they want and need to learn to live a meaningful life as well as keeping what is important to the current people we support (our day service and existing connections). 

A: 21 March 2025 

We’re aware that it is incredibly challenging for people with severe and profound disabilities to get the support they need from disability providers. This is because the supports they need cost more and requires greater expertise from the people providing it. Because it is so challenging for people with severe and profound disabilities (including complex behavioural needs) our goal is to be there for as many people as possible. 

While we are not actively marketing our services to grow our complex behavioural supports just yet, we will try to help as many people who contact us as we can. We are conscious that we have a lot of work to do in managing this transition well and want to give that the focus it deserves before we grow too quickly. 

A: 21 March 2025 

Our goal is to be there for as many people as possible.  

We’re aware that it is incredibly challenging for people with severe and profound disabilities to get the support they need from disability providers. This is because the supports they need cost more and requires greater expertise from the people providing it.  

As such, this is a particular focus area for us. It has always been our speciality, and we believe that we do it well. That won’t change as we transition. And because we won’t be restricted by the limited capacity of the Langwarrin site, we are hoping that in the long-term, we will be able to support even more people who need our help. 

A: 21 March 2025 

Absolutely. We couldn’t agree more. We cannot lose our culture through this process; and we must make sure that there is always high-quality support and supervision for every team member across the organisation. 

Quality support is achieved not just through proximity to others. It’s about strong professional relationships and genuine connection. This is why the organisation has invested a lot in the support offered through Leading Teams and leadership is working hard to embed our agreed behaviours throughout the organisation. We must all take responsibility for supporting each other. The best organisational cultures are those where its team members genuinely care about and respect one another. 

A: 21 March 2025 

MLV is not in trouble. However, organisational sustainability is continually on our minds because it’s increasingly difficult for registered service providers to remain viable.  MLV has excellent financial stewardship and has done everything it can to control costs and increase income.  

We plan for MLV to be operating in the community for many years to come. To do so, we need to invest in our future. Traditional, legacy models of support (such as centre-based day services) are no longer generously funded (as they were before the NDIS). Funding provided by NDIS is lean and Government is controlling costs to push service providers to think more innovatively about how they deliver their services (a current example being that NDIA wants to reduce the amount of funding for centre capital costs). 

Following significant investment to improve quality and the services on offer, we are anticipating the organisation will break even in 2025/26. 

In the meantime, MLV has been awarded a grant from the Department of Social Services to bring its Meaningful Lives services to life. This is extremely exciting and demonstrates the confidence that Federal Government has in the organisation and its sustainability. 

Refer to Questions 3 and 10 

Refer to Q10. 

We don’t yet know what buildings we’ll use. This is what we’d like to work together on with the people we support, families and team members. Some options include: renting a fitted-out site and hiring community facilities (as we’ve done after other transitions). We’re sure that there are many other options and we’re excited to hear everyone’s ideas. 

A: 16 May 2025 

We’ve heard that we may need to retain some specialised transport for some people we support. In which case, we could partner with specialised transport services (such as Total Care Transport) to deliver those services. 

For those that have accessible community transport options, we may be able to use community-run transport services, such as those provided by local governments and community-wide ‘transit share’ programs. 

While not suitable for everyone, we can support those who are able, to access public transport in their community where safe and appropriate. 

Again, while not suitable for everyone, using private taxis and rideshares where safe and appropriate could be appropriate for some people. 

Where there are strong ‘circles of support’ in place or where they can be created, we could use ‘natural supports’ such as creating an ‘I need a ride’ network or a ‘Ride Cooperative’ carpool program with families, and posting requests for volunteers in local bulletins. 

Where possible, we could pay our team members to transport people supported where safe and appropriate to do so. 

In some cases, we may need to establish a small, specialised fleet of vehicles for team members to access when needed. 

We don’t know what this will look like yet (and certainly not in every case). What we do know is that funding for transport is becoming more difficult to obtain and so we have to rethink how we deliver our activity-based transport services anyway. 

Options include: using public transport, thinking about how people that we support can travel together in friendship groups, looking at volunteer options etc. Again, we’d like to work together on this with the people we support, families and team members and listen to all ideas. 

As you know, the current Langwarrin site is not close to public transport and is difficult to get to and from. When we transition from the site, we will have more opportunities to find locations that are closer to amenities and have better access which helps solve the ongoing issue that many are having with their transport funding. 

A: 21 March 2025 

Yes. Group supports will continue. As a Social Participation service, it’s important that friendship and connection continues and supporting people in groups is a key way of doing this. 

A: 21 March 2025 

Refer to Q5 

A: 21 March 2025 

Refer to Q11 

A: 21 March 2025 

It sure can, which is why we need to continue to do our best to help the people we support through their life transitions. Change is a constant for everyone, disability or not. We can’t shelter each other from change, the only thing we can do is prepare for it and help each other through it. 

We intend to be really effective in our planning. This is why we’re talking to people about these changes so far in advance. There’s lots to think about, lots of emotions to process and lots of support to be provided. This can only work if we continue to work together as people we support, families and team members. 

A: 21 March 2025 

It is our intent for everyone to have a future with MLV and we don’t want to lose anyone.  

However, we’re also aware that in an NDIS landscape, choice and control is paramount. The people we support can choose to leave us at any time. Whenever that happens, we need to adjust to ensure that our staffing resources match the support hours that we deliver. As we’ve seen in the past, this sometimes means that hours do need to change to make sure that we’re not over-resourced. This is an example of good financial governance and making sure that the organisation continues to be able to support people in the long-term. 

That means that we have to be consistently excellent at our jobs and deliver supports that meet people’s needs to ensure that we retain our current support hours, regardless of this transition. 

Through this transition, our primary focus is on meeting people’s needs. We believe that this is the best way to retain the people we support  

A: 21 March 2025 

Refer to Q15 

A: 21 March 2025 

At this stage, we don’t know what the future of the buses will be. What we do know is that they are old, expensive to run and repair and not fit for purpose. We also know that the NDIA is looking to reduce funding for transport in NDIS plans.  

This means that while we may be able to retain some buses, we still need to find a long-term transport solution regardless of the transition from Langwarrin. 

Providing positive behaviour support does not rely only on having buses on hand. We must continue to plan with the people we support to identify key risks, issues that could arise and contingencies that need to be established when things don’t go to plan. That’s all part of providing a great service.