Mainstream Community Support

Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre is not a registered NDIS provider, however as a state funded organisation we are considered to be a Mainstream Community Support Organisation.

People with disabilities are welcome to volunteer in or join our regular programs (walking group, garden group, chatty cafe's etc)  but are required to speak to the Disability Intake Coordinator before attending. The Disability Intake Coordinator will assess your suitability to join the program and what functional supports you will require to participate or bring with you.

Take Our Survey

Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre placement students are collecting information to help them develop a Disability Action and Inclusion Plan for the Centre. It only takes a few minutes for you to provide your thoughts on what we do well and how we can improve our service delivery and support to people with disabilities.

NDIS Support and Programs

We are currently developing several 1:1 supported programs for NDIS Plan Managed and Self Managed clients. These "Programs of Support" are 10 week programs designed to build social connection capacity and employability skills for participants. A "Program of Support" will document a participant's goals and needs, reassessing them once achieved.

If you are interested in finding out more, contact the Disability Intake Coordinator.

Come along to our Community Activities

Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre holds many social activities and events each year and welcomes everyone to come along to connect and have fun. People with disabilities are always welcome to attend and many find our lunches and morning / afternoon teas to be a great way to be socially active in the community. Support Workers, friends and family members are also encouraged to bring people with disabilities to our activities.

Please note, as we are not a disability service provider, we are therefore unable to provide 1:1 support for people with disabilities. Participants in our activities must be able attend to their own personal care needs including eating, drinking, personal hygiene, moving around and going to the toilet. Support Workers / Carers who attend are required to actively support the person they bring to our activities.

To find out more about our social activities we encourage you to subscibe to our Newsletter or follow us on social media.

Support Worker / Carer Expectations

We recognise many people with disabilities have significant barriers to participation requiring Support Workers or Carers to help them be active in the community. We endeavour to welcome everyone into our programs however we are not a funded disability provider nor do we have disability support staff.

If a participant is unable to attend to their own personal care needs including eating, drinking, personal hygiene, moving around and going to the toilet, then they must bring a Support Worker / Carer with them.

Support Workers are expected to be in attendance with the participant and actively support their clients. Leaving clients unattended or excessive use of mobile phones in an activity will not be tolerated.

We endeavour at all times to make participation in our programs a safe and fun experience for all participants. We may therefore limit the number of people with disabilities, the number of support workers or the total number of participants to ensure everyone has both a positive and rewarding time in our programs.

Our friends at VALID and Advocacy WA have developed this great resource explaining how we expect Support Workers to behave: Stay off your phone! A guide for disability support workers 

Adult Education and Training

Funded by the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, we offer adult education courses for anyone looking to build their literacy, numeracy and digital skills to help them find employment or undertake further study.

For more information on how people with disabilities can be involved refer to our Disability Learning Courses.