Page 3955 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 30 October 2013
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The next thing I would like to refer to is that I received a letter from the AEIOU Foundation last week. It sought to outline the financial model they are proposing, at least in regard to the annual funding model by parents and how this could be supported through the pooling of childcare benefits, childcare rebates and carers allowances.
While we are on the topic of the funding model, I would like to make a few points. Firstly, the funding model presumably only operates for children who are eligible for federal childcare subsidies; so there remains a question about how it works for school-age children. I appreciate that the therapeutic and educational goals for the school are that children are then integrated into mainstream primary school settings, but this perhaps would not be at the same age or stage for all children.
Secondly, the funding model assumes that parents would be happy to pool all their allowances into one bucket to subsidise the school fees. This, of course, may suit many parents if they are receiving the full package of services—education, therapy services and respite. However, it does not leave any funding for other things. Given that education, therapy services and respite are probably the most pronounced needs for children on the autism spectrum, in a practical sense this may not be an issue, but it is worth being aware of. Some families may end up being more out of pocket than outlined in the proposal.
Thirdly, I want to touch on the allocation of ACT government funding currently spent providing some of these services to families in the ACT. The letter I received from AEIOU implied that some of the money invested by the ACT government could be diverted to their service to provide the additional $22,000 that would be required to co-fund the annual placement costs. This would require careful discussion and thinking through, especially in the context of the NDIS being implemented shortly and the significant changes that that will bring about. NDIS funding is intended to facilitate better choice for people with a disability about the services they wish to access. At this stage I think it is unclear what services the ACT government will continue to provide once the NDIS is in place.
I will be supporting the amendment tabled by Ms Burch today. I think it adds some further detail to the situation in regard to the services provided for children on the autism spectrum and also the debates we have had in this chamber this year. I am pleased the Ricky Stuart Foundation is meeting with the minister and that conversations with the University of Canberra are proceeding. I think it is important that we recognise the services that are already provided to children with autism spectrum disorder in the ACT, remembering that this service option is not going to be what all parents want for their children and that supporting the assessments and service delivery that are provided by Therapy ACT is important.
While some parents would prefer to see their children in an autism-specific school, others are passionate about their children being integrated with support into a mainstream environment. It is obviously also going to be important for the government to be clear that the AEIOU service provides best-practice therapeutic services for children on the spectrum. I am not saying this because I am under any
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