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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 3547 ..

deemed to provide the best all round proposal to provide services within the ACT. Indeed, Kincare has since set up a local administration and is an active participant in ACT networking.

It should be noted that three ACT agencies were also successful in the tender rounds in which Kincare participated.

(3) I understand that FaBRiC was established separate from Barnardo's as some HACC funding to Barnardo's was being redirected outside the ACT to Barnardo's national office. This practice was seen to reduce funds available to the ACT. This occurred prior to current purchaser provider arrangements.

Under present arrangements, organisations are contracted to provide a range of outputs within the ACT. Kincare won the tender in a competitive process and its contract specifies the provision of outputs to be delivered within the ACT. The provision of outputs is monitored. This was not the case with Barnardo's under the older grant arrangements.

(4) Kincare is required to provide quarterly output and financial reports similar to other HACC agencies. Acquittal occurs on an annual basis.

(5) Kincare has established an ACT office. Under purchaser-provider arrangements there is less concern with the allocation of inputs to service provision, and a greater emphasis on the delivery of outputs, that is, services to the ACT community. As such, it is irrelevant whether Kincare expend contracted funds on its NSW administrative centre, as long as it delivers the contracted outputs to the ACT community. I understand that Kincare's NSW office has contributed substantially to the ACT establishment of Kincare.

(6) The Department of Health and Community Care is concerned about the number of HACC service providers only in relation to possible inefficiency due to lack of economy of scale and possible difficulty in accessing services.

The department is also concerned that ACT citizens should have access to high quality, cost efficient services and choice of service providers. It should be noted that Kincare, in a competitive tendering process, was selected as it offered high quality cost efficient services, and has since delivered on that commitment.

(7) Kincare tendered high quality services at a better price, including developing its infrastructure and administrative overheads in the ACT, than did existing services using their current infrastructure and administrative overheads. While Kincare's administration may duplicate existing administration in other agencies, it is able to do this at a lesser cost and provide services, than did other agencies tendering for this service.

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