(Discussion Paper)

The NDIS will support individual expression of choice and control through individualised funding arrangements. This paper considers whether people with a disability can utilise Cooperative principles to further extend that choice and control. For example can people with a disability under the NDIS create their own: a) Purchaser or Service co-ops? b) Producer or Worker co-ops ? c) Cultural or Educational co-ops ? Cooperatives are democratic, member owned organisations where people work together to achieve what they cannot achieve for themselves alone. Cooperatives can take a variety of forms including: - Purchaser coops which source cheaper/better products and services for members (e.g. the university Co-op bookshops, RACQ). - Producer co-ops, providing the means for producers to process and market goods (e.g Devondale and Norco Dairy). - Banking and Finance coops, generating financial solutions for members (e.g. Summerland Credit Union, MECU) - Workers coops, which generate work for members (e.g. NCEC, Reverse Garbage) - Housing coops which provide safe and affordable housing (e.g. IHG) Cooperatives form a significant part of the economy and have been established in Australia and across the world to provide public and community services. See the recent report from BCCM for more information. http://bccm.coop/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/PublicServiceMutuals_Final_V3_PDF1.pdf Cooperatives may also be charities if their objects and purpose are consistent with that of a public benefit. Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative (NCEC) is one such example in Queensland.

Cooperatives and the NDIS

As a form of organisation, cooperatives have qualities which make them particularly suited to assisting people with disabilities to realise their aspirations under a scheme such as the NDIS. Below are some key principles from NDIS literature which highlight the unique potential of cooperatives. Choice and Control: True choice and control comes where individuals are enfranchised. Being member owned and democratic (one member one vote), responsiveness to individuals and power sharing is woven into the DNA of cooperatives.

Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative 23 Nundah St Nundah Qld 4012 www.ncec.com.au

Individualised Support: Cooperatives are independent and autonomous organisations which put members at the heart of what they do. A cooperative is beholden primarily to its members and not to other authorities such managers, owners, directors or shareholders. Cooperatives are therefore suited to achieving truly individualised and flexible supports for people with a disability. The question of scale: It is often noted that scale whilst helpful to achieving efficiencies, reduces an organisations capacity to respond people as individuals. Cooperation allows for an economy of scale with a human face. Whilst cooperatives may become large, they are ultimately grounded in the democratic control of members. Life-long support: Cooperatives, as opposed to for profit models retain any surplus for the use of the cooperative and its constituency. This means that less precious resources leak out of the system than might otherwise occur. It also means the Cooperatives may be more sustainable and better able to provide life-long support to individuals, than other organisational forms.

Stories of Australian and overseas Coops

Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative (NCEC), Story: NCEC was formed out the aspirations of 15 people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities who wanted to work but were long term unemployed. These individuals had made successive attempts to find employment, often with the help of employment services, only to experience frustration and failure. The cooperative began humbly as a jobs club with a borrowed mower, mowing small backyards as well as doing some local catering work. With support from local community organisations, businesses and governments, NCEC has grown in size to employ over 20 members in a range of part time roles and generates over 5000 hours of work for members annually. NCEC members are involved in drafting their own workplace rules, designing a supportive workplace and taking up directorship on the board of management. The Independent Housing Group (IHG) Story: In 1989 the majority of the founding members of the Independent Housing Group (IHG) were living in private rental accommodation. The group knew each other through their common participation in the Community Living Program (CLP), a service supporting people with a disability to live in the community. A combination of private rental shortages and high rents and the fact that members of the group were reliant on Social Security payments contributed to a situation where group members found themselves paying well over half their income in rent. On June 30th 1989, nine people attended a first meeting discussing the idea of a
Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative 23 Nundah St Nundah Qld 4012 www.ncec.com.au

housing co-op with a worker from CLP. This was the birth of the Co-op, as its members came to call it. Through successful submissions to local housing authorities the Co-op was able to purchase its first properties early in its history. It now owns 12 properties, primarily units, which provide safe and affordable accommodation to its members. Throughout the coops history members have been actively involved in the selection and purchase of properties, provision for maintenance, collection of rents and the setting of organisational policy. The cooperative has a very low rent default record due to its active member involvement and has even been able to save enough monies through rents to take out loans and purchase additional properties for new members. The International Cooperative Movement and People with a Disability There are numerous international examples of Cooperation by people with a disability as either producers or purchasers and owners of their own services. For an international overview of the Cooperative movement and people with a disability, please read the UN report: A Cooperative future for People with a Disability by the United Nations International Labor Office (ILO). Link available here: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/--ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_194822.pdf

Other freely available resources include: Cooperatives in Australia a manual http://www.rdamnc.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/Coop_Manual_FINAL.pdf Participation and Production a resource for community enterprises (by Nundah Co-op) http://www.ncec.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=31 Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals Webpage http://bccm.coop/ (subscription to their webmail will keep you in touch with their research and advocacy on the role of cooperatives in the provision of public services).

Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative 23 Nundah St Nundah Qld 4012 www.ncec.com.au