Page 3184 - Week 07 - Thursday, 30 June 2011
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ability to control costs, and once again illustrates our strong track record in prudent management of our financial resources. The funds will be returned as a saving.
This package contains instruments signed under section 18 of the Act, totalling $21.617 million.
Mr Speaker, these instruments, and other instruments authorising expenditure under Section 18 of the FMA have been approved to address both a range of necessary expenses that were not foreseen at the time of the original appropriation and/or payments made in response to increased activity necessary to maintain front line service delivery standards.
Mr Speaker, I commend these papers to the Assembly.
ACT Community Sector Mental Health Services—Review, dated May 2011.
Mr Speaker, today I table the Report of the Review of the ACT Community Sector of Mental Health Services.
I welcome this report, which will greatly assist in growing and strengthening the mental health community sector in the ACT.
The report has the support of community agencies, who have taken a major part in developing the recommendations. Throughout the review process, community agencies have been assured that the review was not about removing money from the sector, but about enhancing the quality and sustainability of community sector mental health services and their coordination with the public sector services.
The community sector is an important and growing part of mental health service delivery in the ACT, with a key role in areas such as recovery services and rehabilitation, supported accommodation, sub-acute residential and outreach services, mental health promotion and prevention, and mental health education to schools and community. Furthermore, over the term of this Government the community mental health funding has grown by over 300%.
The ACT Mental Health Services Plan 2009 – 2014 (the ‘Services Plan’) provides an integrated approach to service delivery between government and community agencies, and directs a greater role and strengthened capacity for the community sector. This report supports these goals.
The Services Plan provides a coordinated approach to mental health service delivery. However the current review was established because the ACT Government and the community sector mental health services recognised that historically, the community sector had developed in response to individual circumstances and submissions to Government rather than because of more strategic planning across the sector.
It was also time for a broad assessment of the pattern of service delivery against consumer and carer needs. Mental health consumers and carers have been closely involved in the review.
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