Social Services Regulator visits disability and family services providers in central and north-east Victoria

In the first week of May, Victoria’s Social Services Regulator, Jonathan Kaplan, visited regional social services providers in Bendigo, Echuca and Shepparton to better understand how they are working to keep local clients safe from avoidable harm.

Mr Kaplan met with staff at Amicus Community Services in Bendigo, a service provider supporting adults and young people living with a disability in the Bendigo region, before heading to Echuca to visit Vivid, who provide a range of disability support to clients across north-eastern Victoria including residential support and day programs.

In Shepparton, Mr Kaplan met with two community-based child and family services providers, Primary Care Connect and FamilyCare and attended FamilyCare’s Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan launch.

These regional visits are a great opportunity for the Regulator to connect with providers on the ground and learn about their experiences and any unique challenges they face in delivering services to their community.

“Hearing directly from local service providers in Bendigo, Echuca and Shepparton about the work they do, the challenges they face, and how we can work together to create positive outcomes for social services users has been really valuable,” says Mr Kaplan.

The Regulator is committed to supporting providers across regional Victoria and has previously met with services in Mildura, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Ballarat, Warrnambool, Geelong, Warragul, Morwell, Sale and Lakes Entrance. Visiting service providers across the state is part of the Social Services Regulator’s approach to strengthening protections for social services users to safeguard vulnerable Victorians from harm, abuse and neglect.

“Everyone living with a disability or facing social, health and other life challenges in regional Victoria deserves to feel safe and supported, and it’s great to see so many local services working hard to make this a reality,” says Mr Kaplan.

Find out more about the Social Service Regulator’s approach to regulation.