As we mark Scope’s 75th birthday, we sat down with Robert Moore, Senior Manager Government Relations, to chat about his extensive career at Scope, and the changes he’s within the organisation and disability sector.
Q: When did you start working at Scope? Was it called Scope then?
A: I started working at Scope in 1996. It was called the Spastic Society of Victoria at the time.
Q: What was your role when you started working at Scope?
A: When I first started I was the Administration Manager. I looked after reception, the mail service delivery van, policies, procedures and records.
At that time we oversaw about 35 houses and we have grown enormously since then!
Q: What was different when you started work at Scope?
A: When I started at Scope there were probably six computers in the office, all running different programs and not connected to one another. And they certainly weren't connected to the internet, which was around by that time.
I had come from a multi-national company in London which was a paperless office environment.
So, coming from quite a sophisticated organisation to somewhere that was barely in the 20th century, let alone approaching he 21st century, was very different for me.
The office was smaller, and not as professional as we are today. The head office was a former bowling alley in St Kilda.
At the time we were a charity that was more into fundraising. We held raffles and the Miss Australia Quest to raise money – so a different approach to what we do now for fundraising.
We have come a long way since then.
Q: What are some of the changes you've seen during your career in the disability sector?
A: I trained as a historian with my first degree, and I’ve gone back over historical documents. Back in the 50’s we were talking about ensuring people with a disability had a voice. And the way we have gone about that has become more sophisticated.
The involvement of people with disability within the organisation is something that has really changed. I can see in the time I’ve been with Scope that we now consult more with people with disability to hear what they have to say about things that are important to them. They are really involved in the creation of the future of Scope.
There is still a way to go – I think we still don’t employ enough people with disability. We are moving in that direction and currently putting that in our plans.
When I started, there was also no quality assurance for disability services. You did what the government said, and you were block funded by government. So, the money went to service providers rather than people with disability. These days there’s a lot more scrutiny and the introduction of the NDIS in 2013 was a complete turnaround in the way disability services were funded in in this country Australia, let alone the world. It is pretty much a world leading program, if it can be implemented properly.
They are just a few things at the top of mind that have changed.
Q: Do you think the organisation currently takes a more human rights approach in its work at the moment?
A: I think we are more conscious about that. Certainly awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is there now. It existed when I started, but we didn’t cite it with the regularity that we do now. I think part of that is through the way things have changed external to Scope too.
Australia is now on its second Disability Strategy, the first one ran for 10 years, the second one spans 2021 to 2031 and that is tied to the UNCRPD. And through the NDIS there is also reference to the UNCRPD and we are taking that on in a more explicit way than we have before.
Q: What's one memory that has stood out from your time working at Scope?
A: I remember a story of a client who had a lot more ability to be involved in the community than she was able to exercise. For 30 or more years she had only ever had vanilla ice cream for her dinner.
One day she went to the shops with the staff where she lived – this would have been about 1998 - and she found out there was a thing called Neapolitan ice cream. She said “I didn’t know there was anything apart from vanilla.” Her face lit up when she tried it, and she never had vanilla ice-cream again! She ate Neapolitan and all sorts of flavours.
Just the fact that she was able to go out shopping and see what was available resulted in that change in her life.
That is a really minor example, but it has always resonated with me.
Q: What do you see changing in the future, either at Scope or in the disability sector?
A: In the disability sector we have two reports from two major pieces of work coming up. One is the NDIS Review, which is the 10 year review of the NDIS. It is looking at every aspect of the scheme - what’s working and what’s not, and what can be done be better.
The second is the Disability Royal Commission where they will have recommendations and findings. These are going to have a transformative effect on the way that the disability sector operates into the future.
Scope, itself, I see being more corporate, but also having more people with disability involved in the organisation, as employees, as managers, as directors on the board, as decision-makers and as people who hold power. And that is the way it should be.
Q: What are you excited to see in the future, either at Scope or in the disability sector?
A: I find the prospect of people with disability being central to the organisation and leading us into the future to be incredibly exciting. The more roles that people with disability hold into the future, the better. What really excites me is for people to have the sort of control over their lives that people without disability often take for granted – that people with disability are more visible and can talk to and coach other people with disability about where they may want their lives to head. I find that tremendously exciting.
Q: What do you love about working at Scope?
A: The people, it’s always people.
As I mentioned previously, I’d been in the workforce for 20 years, worked in multi-national organisations and done lots of different things before I came to Scope and I joined because it was a not-for-profit with a mission focused on people.
Q: Which Scope value resonates with you most and why?
A: The value that resonates with me the most is ‘we celebrate people’. The way we relate to one another and the value we place on people’s roles within the life they live in society is essential to who we all are. Celebrating people means that we look to every aspect of them and special talents and the unique attributes that they bring to us. It’s everyone being together with their unique perspectives that makes Scope what it is.
Q: Do you feel like Scope is a leader in the disability sector at present?
A: Considering where we’ve come from, I think we are. When I started in 1996 we were a 35 million dollar turnover business, we are now about 20 times that size.
We have led through growth. We acquired about 41% of government specialist disability accommodation services when tendered in Victoria, and we acquired Disability Services Australia (DSA) and UnitingCare and incorporated them to Scope.
And the things Scope has to say are listened to by government, listened to by our peer organisations, and they are listened to by the peak bodies in the sector. So certainly, we are a leading organisation in many respects.
Q: If you had any advice for people joining disability sector for work, what would it be?
A: You really need to have your values aligned with the sector and be doing it for reasons associated with those values.
You need to have the right attributes to be working in disability, not just wanting to do good. It’s understanding that people with disability should be leading us in this space.
Q: 75 years from now, what do you hope life for people with a disability will look like?
A: I hope people don’t ever need to talk about ‘people with a disability’, they are people first. That people’s opinions are valued just because they’re people.
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: It’s been fascinating to see the journey. It started with a small group of families coming together back in 1948 who saw there was a gap in terms of what they wanted for their kids with disability.
It has grown from those beginnings to where we are now - the number one organisation providing disability service under the NDIS. It’s been a memorable journey that we’ve been on and all throughout we’ve been a values and mission-based organisation.
As Scope marks its 75th anniversary, we are highlighting the many people who have helped make Scope the organisation it is today. We met with long time Scope client Peter Abbey to understand his journey with Scope.
As Scope marks its 75th anniversary, we highlight the stories of the people who make Scope the organisation it is today. We sat down with Paul Elliott to hear about his extensive career and contribution to the organisation.
From our humble beginnings in the garage of some concerned parents to becoming one of Australia’s largest service providers - Scope's history is a testament to its unwavering dedication to creating a world where everyone can thrive.
