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What's new at EGPCP?
Open for business
COVID-19 has added another level of complexity to an already challenging time in East Gippsland. We trust that you are all keeping well and exercising self-care. EGPCP staff are still working, however you are likely to find us doing hours from home rather than in the office. Our contact details remain the same and we look forward to hearing from you.
For more information on COVID-19 please see further down the newsletter.
PCP review
Thank you to all those who participated in the recent PCP review. There was a high level of engagement from partners across the state, which provided a rich source of material for consideration. Given the extraordinary circumstances of the recent bushfires and the current pandemic, the findings of the review are still being considered. The good news is that PCP Program funding has been extended to 31 December 2020.
Celebrating 20 years of PCPs
Primary Care Partnerships across Victoria have recently celebrated our 20 year history of providing on the ground support in local Victorian communities to improve health and wellbeing outcomes. Primary Care Partnerships were established in Victoria in 2000 to strengthen relationships across local primary care, health and community sectors and support prevention, early intervention and equitable access to services.
Primary Care Partnerships connect more than 850 organisations across health, education, community service and local government with local communities to support them through work such as sharing data, undertaking integrated planning, providing workforce and resource development and assisting community participation. The assistance supports delivery of over twenty state government priority strategies, actively embedding government policy and reform in local communities through more than 150 distinct initiatives.
The State-wide Chair of Victorian Primary Care Partnerships, Margaret McDonald, acknowledged the work of partner organisations and the desire to celebrate collectively. ‘We understand our communities because we are members of them", she said.
‘We are proud to have remained leaders throughout our 20 year history and to continue to provide the platform for our partners to work together quickly and efficiently, responding to community need and supporting successful community outcomes that the government relies on particularly in rural and regional areas where services are less accessible and where often care is needed most’, Ms McDonald said.
‘In a changing health landscape, our work is sometimes misunderstood or assumed to be undertaken by metropolitan and regional partnerships, the Orange Door services and Primary Health Networks, but it is very different’, she said.
‘We acknowledge the government’s commitment to further funding and are excited to work with the Department, Minister, our partners and our stakeholders to continue to remain fit for purpose, continue to improve community health outcomes and to secure the partnership’s future’, Ms McDonald concluded.
We look forward to continuing to work with you into the future.
Emily White
Executive Officer, EGPCP
New-look website
Our website has a fresh new look! Check it out here and give us feedback on what you would like to see on there.
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Health Advice:
Activity Ban:
- Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced Stage 3 restrictions across the state from midnight Monday 30 March.
- Gatherings will be restricted to no more than 2 people except for members of your immediate household and for work or education
- Under the Stage 3 restrictions, the new directions will mean that what was previously advice about staying home, will become enforceable.
- Playgrounds, skate parks and outdoor gyms will also close
- These Stage 3 restrictions came into effect from 11:59pm Monday 30 March 2020. They will be in place for 4 weeks and reviewed as required.
- If people breach these directions, they face on-the-spot fines of $1,652 for individuals and $9,913 for businesses. Larger fines can also be issued through the courts.
There are only 4 reasons to be out:
- Shopping for what you need - food and essential supplies
- Medical, care or compassionate needs
- Exercise in compliance with the public gathering requirements
- Work and study if you can’t work or learn remotely
Care Packs:
- Victorians in mandatory self-isolation running short on food and unable to have any dropped-off by friends are now eligible for a "food and personal care package", with a two-weeks supply of items like long-life milk, pasta, canned fruit, cereal and sugar, as well as some personal care items. People wishing to request a pack should call Victoria’s dedicated Coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398.
Job Matching:
- VCOSS (Victorian Council of Social Service) and the Victorian Trades Hall Council will be working with the Victorian Government to develop a scheme that matches people out of work with jobs that need doing during the pandemic. That might be hospitality workers helping feed people in isolation, or it could be factory workers helping clean trains and trams. The Victorian Government has announced $500 million to establish this Working for Victoria Fund.
Victorian 'Survival Package':
- The Victorian Government has announced a $1.7 billion economic survival and jobs package to help businesses and workers survive the impacts of the pandemic. Measures including full payroll tax refunds, applications for commercial rent relief, paying outstanding supplier invoices and waiving liquor licensing fees.
Federal Support:
- Income support for individuals
Over the next six months, the Government is temporarily expanding eligibility to income support payments and establishing a new, time-limited Coronavirus supplement to be paid at a rate of $550 per fortnight. To be paid to both existing and new recipients of JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance Jobseeker, Parenting Payment, Farm Household Allowance and Special Benefit. Read more.
- Payments to support households
The Government is providing two separate $750 payments to social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders. The first payment will be made from 31 March 2020 and the second payment will be made from 13 July 2020. Read more.
- Temporary early release of superannuation
The Government is allowing individuals affected by the Coronavirus to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21. Read more
- JobKeeper Payment for Employees
The JobKeeper payment helps businesses significantly impacted by the Coronavirus cover the costs of their employees’ wages, so more Australians can retain their jobs and continue to earn an income. Your employer will notify you if they intend to claim the fortnightly payment of $1,500 on your behalf.
Launch of Coronavirus Australia App and WhatsApp
- Coronavirus Australia, which is available from the Apple App Store and on Google Play, was launched alongside the Government's new WhatsApp feature. The Coronavirus Australia app allows users to navigate the latest advice and information about coronavirus
East Gippsland Shire Council:
- Keep up to date with local impacts with the EGSC COVID-19 newsletters
Board / Governance Impacts:
- The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has released fresh guidance of what organisations should do if they're struggling to hold regular board meetings of officially complete their Annual Information Statement. More details here.
Vic Health Coronavirus Resources
- In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it is now more critical than ever to support the health and wellbeing of our communities. This information hub is for use by health promotion organisations and practitioners. It will be regularly updated with key messages and resources that you can use to communicate with your audiences.
- There are free resources for health promotion organisations and practitioners to use to communicate with their audiences during coronavirus.
Free Online Infection Control Training:
- The Federal Government is offering workers across the health, aged care, disability and childcare sectors access to a free online training module on infection control. This training module takes about 30 minutes to complete and covers the fundamentals of infection prevention and control (IPC) for COVID-19.
Advice for Legal Problems:
- A range of legal problems are emerging following the rollout of measures such as quarantining people to limit the spread of the virus. Victoria Legal Aid can provide help over the phone 1300 792 387 (please note that there may have longer wait times). Advice can also be provided through a live webchat service here.
Answering Questions from Children:
Mental Health:
- Black Dog Institute News: ongoing resources about coping during the Coronavirus outbreak such as:
- Being well podcast series: Shares a personal lived experience of mental health via a podcast.
- BiteBack Black Dog Institute’s BITE BACK is an online space aimed at improving the overall wellbeing and resilience of young Australians. and we encourage young people to take the Mental Fitness Challenge.
- myCompass An evidence-based self-help tool for people experiencing mild to moderate stress, depression and anxiety. Clinically proven to reduce symptoms and improve wellbeing.
Other Resources:
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Systems thinking
East Gippsland Systems Community of Practice
It was wonderful to see you all at the Systems thinking Community of Practice (East Gippsland & beyond) in Bairnsdale. We had a mix of people in person and people over Zoom. Thank you to those who were able to attend or link in, it really doesn't happen without you.
I have attached some summary notes from the day, I hope they help to provide insights into some of the complexity we're in right now, while supporting you and those around you navigate some of the messy things in front of us all.
Some of the things in these notes:
- A complex start to 2020
- Applying the systems iceberg to a range of current complex problems in East Gippsland
- Measuring systems change in each of these problems - what we would be looking for
- Applying systems archetypes directly to our problems (Success to the successful, Fixes that fail, Limits to growth & Intensity to action)
- What we want to do next time
While we'll meet again as a group in the second half of the year, for now feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or would like help approaching some of the complex problems ahead.
Take care and speak again soon.
Tiana
Prior to COVID-19 restrictions, partners gather together to work on systems archetypes |
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New opportunities
Vacant Positions
Bairnsdale Regional Health service - Various Positions
East Gippsland Shire Council - Various Positions
Gippsland Lakes Complete Health - Various Positions
Latrobe Regional Hospital - Various positions across Gippsland
Mallacoota District Health and Support Service - Various Positions
Omeo District Health - Various Positions
Orbost Regional Health - Various Positions
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New resources
Grants
Bushfire Grants and Financial Assistance - The Grants Hub
Several grants available for bushfire effected communities.
Budget Direct Sponsorship Grants
If your organisation is eligible, you can apply for a Budget Direct sponsorship of $1,000, $2,500, or $5,000.
Applications open: March 1 2020.
Applications close: May 31 2020
Strengthening Rural Communities
The Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program aims to give the thousands of small rural, regional and remote communities across Australia an opportunity to apply for funding that can support broad community needs. This program is an evolution of the long-running Small Grants for Rural Communities (SGRC) program that FRRR ran for 34 rounds over a 16-year period.
The program criteria are deliberately flexible, and with applications being accepted all year round, communities have increased access to funds that can be used where and when a community knows it’s needed.
Tackling Tough Times Together
The Tackling Tough Times Together program helps communities access the resources they need to support one another through the drought. Open year round, grants up to $20,000 and $60,000 are available, with EOIs invited for grants up to $150,000.
Status: Open
EOIs Closing: 16/04/2020
Round 1 2020 Towards Zero Community Grant Program
The Towards Zero Community Grants program provides grants of up to $30,000 to support local community-based road safety programs and projects targeting local road safety issues.
Applications open: 9am, Monday, April 6 2020.
Applications close: 3pm, Wednesday, May 6 2020.
For more information head to the TAC website.
Individual Capacity Building Program 2020-2021
The NDIA is inviting applications in an open competitive process to apply to deliver services under the Individual Capacity Building Program from 2020-21 to 2021-22.
The Program aims to ensure:
- People with disability have the skills and confidence to participate and contribute to the community and protect their rights through an increase in:
- skills and capacity
- motivation, confidence and empowerment to act
- participation and contribution to community.
- Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs) and Families Organisations (FOs) are strengthened in their capability to deliver services for people with a disability through:
- improving the organisation’s capacity and ability to deliver the organisation’s mission and Information, Linkages and Capacity Building in the community.
Applications open: Wednesday March 11, 2020.
Applications close: 2:00pm Wednesday April 22, 2020.
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Upcoming Meetings
Drugs and Alcohol Prevention Alliance
East Gippsland Aboriginal Eye Health Partnership
Healthy Eating Active Living Partnership
Mental Wellbeing Network
If you are interested in participating in these meetings please contact the EGPCP.
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