Page 3952 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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In 2017-18 the ACT government will invest $130 million in the national disability insurance scheme for ongoing disability programs and services. The budget allocated $2.2 million over four years to enable the office for disability to continue to provide policy and oversight relating to the implementation of the NDIS.
I would like to take this opportunity here to commend the staff of the office for disability for their dedication and commitment to working with the National Disability Insurance Agency and the commonwealth Department of Social Services to ensure that Canberrans with disability get the support they need and are entitled to. The office for disability continues to take an active role in monitoring and advocating on policy issues and sometimes on individual matters, reflecting the experiences of both participants and providers in the ACT. Through this role they have achieved and continue to achieve better outcomes for Canberrans engaging in the NDIS.
I will have more to say about this tomorrow, but I wish to just briefly respond to some comments Ms Lee made yesterday regarding the experiences of a number of individual families who are at risk of losing their access to short-term accommodation, better known in the community as respite. As Ms Lee acknowledged, I have been endeavouring to keep her in the loop on this matter. For the information of all members, I have written to both the commonwealth minister, the Hon Christian Porter, and the chair of the NDIA board, Dr Helen Nugent, on the urgent need to ensure that the affected families get the support they need and also on the policy issue of pricing for short-term accommodation.
On Monday morning this week I met with Dr Nugent on this matter, following a recent phone call with her and a call to Minister Porter last week. For some months, including in the ACT government’s submissions to the Productivity Commission, I have been expressing concern about the potential for market failure in supports for people with high and complex needs. This is just one of the things that occupy the office for disability but it really highlights just how important it is that the ACT remains closely engaged in the design and delivery of this major national reform. The ACT is the first jurisdiction to fully transition to the scheme and contributes almost 60 per cent of funding. The ACT government remains committed to continuing to support people with disability living in the ACT community.
In the 2017-18 budget we also invested $200,000 over four years in funding for disability inclusion grants that deliver training, increase awareness and provide infrastructure modifications to increase opportunities for Canberrans with a disability to participate in community and voluntary groups. This is in addition to the government’s existing grants programs which help individuals and organisations showcase the contributions and achievements of people with disability on and around the International Day of People with Disability, or I-Day, on 3 December each year.
It also builds on the involve initiative, which is the ACT government’s response to the national disability strategy. Involve is a movement of people with and without disability, community organisations, industry and government acting together to achieve change that empowers people with a disability. Involve supports and
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