Page 2256 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 5 June 2013
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government and non-government school divide once and for all. This is a new system that provides equitable funding to all schools based on need and we are indeed proud to be a part of it.
This agreement and funding will provide resources to improve our teacher quality through enhanced professional practice and recruitment. It will give principals and school communities the capacity, capability, support and authority to make decisions over how best to allocate their resources for the benefit of their students. It will ensure that schools are given the resources to reflect the needs of their students and to put in place measures to support those students who are at risk of falling behind.
It will mean greater transparency and accountability of all our schools, so that parents and the community can have confidence that their local schools are delivering upon the promise of a great education for all students. These are once-in-a-generation changes and will transform our education sector for the better, delivering a better system for today’s students and students in the years to come.
In addition to the substantial reform and commitment to improved education in the ACT, the ACT government has also committed to significant investment and reform through DisabilityCare Australia, formerly known as the national disability insurance scheme. We are delivering on our substantial commitments to vulnerable Canberrans through this and through delivery of our election commitments and the parliamentary agreement.
On disability, the ACT government, in partnership with the commonwealth government, has agreed to the phased launch of DisabilityCare in the ACT. This will progress to a full scheme in 2016. The initial phase will see a co-funded enhancement for ACT disability and mental health services and a program of work to prepare the ACT prior to the transfer of ACT clients into DisabilityCare from July next year. The enhanced service offer will be made available to eligible people in the ACT in a way which will be sustained when they transfer to DisabilityCare and will be delivered within the principles of choice and control. The readiness initiative addresses the needs of funded organisations to transition to a different funding model and provide people with a disability with information and resources that enable greater choice and control. Total joint funding of $16 million over three years has been committed to achieve the launch in the ACT.
In addition to our commitment to DisabilityCare Australia, this budget also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to vulnerable children, young people and families in the ACT. We have committed $1.2 million a year to support young people transitioning from care and expand youth engagement and family support for youth services. We continue to invest in the parents as teachers program, which is an intensive program for vulnerable children and families and is the cornerstone of early intervention.
In line with recent recommendations from the Auditor-General, we are working to upgrade our children and young people system within the office for youth and family services. We have committed to ongoing financial investment in the Bimberi Youth
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