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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 11 Hansard (14 December) . . Page.. 3011 ..

MS FOLLETT (continuing):

(3) the impact of the Agreement on outcomes of ACT people with disabilities in terms of:

(a) employment;

(b) support services for both children and adults; and

(c) education and support services for school-age children; and

(4) funding of services under the Agreement.

I am moving this motion, Mr Speaker, primarily in order to give us as a Territory an opportunity to review the operation of the Disability Agreement, which was entered into some five years ago, in 1991. The agreement was made between the Commonwealth, the States and Territories, local governments and community organisations. The fundamental purpose of this agreement - and I quote from the agreement - was:

To establish an initial framework for the rationalisation of administrative arrangements for the provision of disability services by the Commonwealth and the States.

The rationalisation that was envisaged had two main features. Those are, first of all, that the Commonwealth would assume full responsibility for the approval, administration and evaluation of employment services for people with disabilities; and, secondly, that the States would assume full responsibility for the approval, administration and evaluation of accommodation and other support services for people with disabilities. In entering into the agreement, the Commonwealth and the States spelt out quite a range of objectives which they hoped to achieve via this agreement. Those achievements related to issues like maximising opportunities for streamlined, cost-efficient administration of services by reducing overheads, simplifying access to services, having better planning and integration at the service delivery level, having clear requirements for service providers, promoting appropriate and effective access by persons with disabilities to generic agencies, focusing on support through a range of service models designed to be of varying durations and types, providing a range of innovative employment and accommodation and support services, improving consumer information, assessment and referral systems in relation to services, and so on.

Mr Speaker, the agreement was entered into with a great deal of hope on the part of the then leaders who were signatories to it. As a result of the agreement, States and Territories legislated to reflect this agreement. The ACT was one of the first to prepare and pass legislation reflecting this agreement. The agreement, when it was entered into, was planned to have a five-year life. It seems to me that that implies that this agreement and its operation will be subject to review within the next year or so, and the States and the Commonwealth will then be faced with continuing this agreement, entering into a new agreement or making some completely different arrangement. It seems to me that this is the appropriate time for us as a Territory to review all of these issues to see whether the objectives of this agreement have actually been met and, as my motion says, to review where this agreement has fallen down.

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