April 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to our second Newsletter of 2025. February and March have been busy with a range of social gatherings celebrating team member birthdays, retirements, gaining permanent residency (congratulations to Petra from the Finance team and Felipe who works at Artarmon and across Drop-In services); and birthday celebrations for participants. Lastly, Johnny hosted a BBQ recently at THC and was absolutely pumped about having done this. Check out some images from the BBQ here: The Housing Connection’s LinkedIn post
We have also celebrated International Women’s Day, World Autism Awareness Day, Down Syndrome Day, Eid, Holi, Purim, Employee Appreciation Day, and Mardi Gras. This year seems to be racing ahead and I cannot believe it is already April. Please feel free to check out our instagram page to view recent pictures: https://www.instagram.com/thehousingconnection/
Ray Hong, our former IT & Quality Manager, retired in December after 8 years with us and a farewell was held for him on March 13th. We also bid farewell to Emily on the same day and whilst we are very sad to see her go, I am sure she will remain part of the THC network and we wish her all the best as she wraps up her four years as a Social Educator at THC after recently finishing her masters in Art Therapy and moves into two amazing new roles. Each of their farewells was filled with laughter, heartfelt speeches, and a few tears as we reflected on Ray and Emily’s contribution at THC. We wish Ray and Emily all the best.
Our Customised Employment project has had challenges getting off the ground since we made a commitment to embark on this last year. We have now appointed Sebastian Job who will be working on and coordinating this project until the end of September for 30 hours per week. Due to the announcement of the Federal election on 3 May and the government going into caretaker mode, the new Disability Service Employment model that was due to kick off from 1 July 2025, and a customised employment model, has now been postponed until 1 November 2025. As a result we have done some rethinking of the project and are now focusing on job outcomes for 10 people between now and the end of September. This equates to about 80 hours of thinking, planning and action for each person. This is being funded by THC and a grant from Willoughby City Council. For more information please contact our office.
As the end of the financial year is approaching, we would like to request you to please make a tax deductible donation to The Housing Connection and to spread the word amongst your networks to consider doing the same. Your donations help us make a difference in the lives of the people we support and go towards providing valuable services and opportunities and in some cases services the NDIA does not fund. A huge thank you to Rob and Jane Eales whose network donated over $2k in lieu of gifts for Rob’s milestone 80th Birthday. Happy Birthday Rob! Jane and Rob were involved in establishing THC and they remain dedicated supporters.
End of year donations can be made using our secure payment method on the website, simply follow this link and submit your details on the donation form to make a donation! 👉 Donate Here 👈 Donations over $2 are tax deductible.
We are excited to share that Senior Social Educator, Katerina, along with Team Leader, Ellen, will be running in the Sydney Half Marathon on Sunday, 4th May and to raise funds for THC. We are currently seeking volunteers who could help out at the event, this involves providing essential drinks and food at the stalls. The shift is from 5.45 – 9.30am, and all volunteers will be given $10 per hour to help raise more funds for THC. You can also opt to donate for our amazing runners Ellen and Katerina using this link 👉 Donate to The Housing Connection at Sydney Half Marathon.
The 2025-26 Federal Budget introduces significant measures affecting the NDIS sector, notably allocating $364.5 million over five years to reform the Information, Linkages, and Capacity Building (ILC) program, aiming to enhance individual, family, and community capacity building, as well as information and advice services. Additionally, $151 million over four years is dedicated to the NDIA’s fraud detection initiatives, emphasising the government’s commitment to ensuring the scheme’s integrity. These investments reflect a strategic focus on strengthening foundational supports and safeguarding the NDIS’s sustainability. To learn more about other changes in the NDIS budget and how it will impact other areas of the disability sector, read this article: https://teamdsc.com.au/resources/federal-budget-the-ndis.
We have sent out some other communications around NDIA updates, including the move to register platform staffing agencies, support coordinators and all supported independent living (SIL) accommodation providers and a process that will kick off from 1 July 2025. THC is a registered provider for support coordination and SIL and is taking referrals.
In terms of the NDIA reform agenda there is little concrete information to update you on. The new portal system PACE is being rolled out and participants are being transitioned to this when they have a new plan done.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us via email at thc@thc.org.au or you can call our reception, 02 9415 2311. We are grateful for your ongoing cooperation and support with The Housing Connection. We hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of our newsletter.
We’ll be back in June with our next update—until then, take care and stay connected!
