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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 03 Hansard (Tuesday, 9 March 2004) . . Page.. 914 ..

this year. The release is pending confirmation of funding from the Commonwealth for the aged care beds on this site.

There are, of course, a number of other sites for residential care facilities. The government has identified sites in Greenway, Monash, Gordon and Nicholls and, subject to their suitability, studies are under way to prepare these sites for sale. Consultation has commenced with the community on the three sites in Tuggeranong. All of the sites require a preliminary assessment, with Greenway and Monash requiring a variation to the territory plan if the land is to be used for aged care. The studies will provide the information needed to determine if the territory plan variations can proceed.

The Land Development Agency has also received an application from St Andrew’s for the direct grant of a lease over land adjacent to its existing complex in Hughes. The intention is to develop an aged care facility on the land. This land is currently urban open space on the territory plan, and further planning studies are being undertaken to determine if a territory plan variation can proceed.

I turn to some other proposals that are currently being considered. The Land Development Agency and ACTPLA are engaged in discussions with a number of organisations that have put forward proposals or development applications for the development of older persons accommodation. These projects are at various stages and may not necessarily result in the development occurring. I tabled details of these projects last week in the Assembly.

I turn now to the issue of land release for independent living units. As I indicated earlier, as part of its land sales program the LDA considers the suitability of including a requirement to build independent living units in sites sold for residential purposes or releases sites for that purpose only. This is the case for the sites that have been identified in Watson and Greenway. The Land Development Agency will be selling sites in Fadden and Gowrie later this month that also fall into this category.

Territory plan issues of course remain a considerable point of discussion. Variations have been made to the territory plan that are designed to improve the ability of organisations to provide accommodation suitable for the aged. In September 2002, the territory plan was varied to introduce the concept of supported housing. Supported housing is residential accommodation with onsite support provided for people who need such services. The housing may be self-contained dwellings and there is a requirement that the development be managed by a territory approved organisation.

At a broader level, it is worth looking at a range of other issues including transitional care. In order to get more residential aged care beds operational quicker, the ACT government secured an agreement with the Australian government, through the Australian health care negotiations, to use up to 50 provisional high care places to provide transitional care for people waiting in ACT hospitals for aged care placement. The ACT government is now working with aged care providers and the Australian government to establish these places. A joint ACT-Australian government pilot transitional care program is already operating at Morling Lodge, including residential and community packages, and these services have recently been extended until June 2005. This service has been extremely successful to date.

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