Page 836 - Week 03 - Thursday, 14 April 1994
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improve physical access and mobility. During 1992-93, the Government provided $334,000, and $350,000 in 1993-94, for alterations to houses for tenants with acquired disabilities, including modifications such as grab rails, ramps and hobless showers. The program benefits some 300 tenants per year, including older citizens. In addition, trust transfer policies allow older tenants to move to smaller and more appropriate housing to match their current and future needs.
The Government recognises that the needs of those who have independent means or assets but little option for appropriate and affordable housing from private sector sources should also be met. While the Government is the main provider of appropriate aged accommodation, it is also investigating programs to encourage the private sector to supply affordable and appropriate accommodation for those with independent incomes or who can sustain independent lifestyles.
A number of objectives to foster provision of independent accommodation options have been agreed as priorities with the Commonwealth in the 1993-1996 ACT housing assistance plan. They include financing options for shared home ownership; facilitating the move from large, inappropriate housing to smaller and more manageable housing through the swapping of equity in existing homes for dwellings in new developments; and planning the location of appropriate housing to take advantage of support services and networks in existing communities. The trust will be developing projects to demonstrate to the private sector the viability of supplying appropriate housing at an affordable cost, with market demand generated by the financing options available to older persons.
I move now to the area of support for aged people living in their own homes. The Government's provision of over 50 per cent of the funding of the home and community care program, or HACC, allows many frail aged people to live independently. A Commonwealth-State steering committee has now begun an examination of the focus and boundaries of the HACC program. The relationship between the HACC program and residential services will be considered as part of this review. Concurrently, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Community Affairs is reviewing the efficiency of services, access to services, gaps in the existing service network, and the quality of services funded under the HACC program. These reviews will look in great detail at the way HACC services are delivered and administered.
The ACT HACC program recently completed a review of HACC grant expenditure for service providers. The purpose of this review was to determine breakdowns of expenditure in relation to administrative and service delivery costs. The results from the review demonstrate that most services in the ACT operate efficiently and effectively, with low administrative overheads. Individual service reviews have now commenced and more detailed consideration will be given to efficiencies coupled with client outcomes.
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