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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 211 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

One of the surprises to me when we started to look into issues around the delivery of disability services in the ACT was the lack of grievance and complaints mechanisms available for people using the services. Having come recently from the Commonwealth Public Service and the aged care area that has addressed these quite fully in the last few years and ensured that there are ways in which there are complaints mechanisms allowed so people can have a say about the services they are receiving, it was quite a shock to find either that there were no mechanisms in place in the ACT or that the mechanisms that were available were extremely difficult to find or access.

If people can have a say about the services they are receiving, if they are able to make a complaint if necessary, a lot of problems can be sorted out early. It is probably an efficiency mechanism to have strong grievance procedures. It is also important in relation to the Government moving more to the private provision of disability services. They will be less hands-on in the future. There are lots of positives in creating more types of services in the ACT. What is important is that we have proper accountability of the expenditure of government funds; accountability that goes beyond just looking at funds expenditure but looks also at the quality of services which are available.

Unfortunately, in this area and other related areas, there is the potential for abuse and it is important that people have the opportunity to have a say and be able to bring things to the attention of someone who can resolve the issue. This is going to be even more important with the delivery of further services to people within their own homes. We are going to have situations where it is going to be one-to-one delivery of service and it is important that people be able to say when they do not like a service or want a service changed. There should be strong and open and transparent grievance mechanisms for people to be able to bring their concerns to the attention of service providers and, if necessary, the Government.

Probably one of the most important groups within the disability services area is the staff working in those areas. They are the people who are delivering the services, often in very difficult circumstances, often in circumstances where they do not receive thanks. I think one of the issues that need to be addressed there is that their own management, their own government, their own employers, do not recognise and acknowledge the work that they do. These are not easy jobs. These people are working, quite often, in quite small workplaces. There needs to be special recognition of the workers in this area.

I was shocked to find the list of OH and S reports that were provided. It gives an indication of some of the problems that can arise. But that is only part of it. It is important that management finds ways of supporting workers in disability services. It is important that we work hard on skill development on an ongoing basis in this area. These are not jobs that can be done by anyone just off the street. These are specialised jobs, and that needs to be recognised. We need to recognise the skill and experience of the people working in that area, and we need to continue to work on those skills and not just take them as given. We cannot just say, "You have a kind face, so you can work here". Only certain types of people can do it. It is hard work and it is important that we recognise those people working in that area.

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