Page 1376 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
We want to know that, when ACT government funding is being provided to pay for people with disabilities in care, the care is deemed to be safe. We do know of instances where government funds have been used to pay for people to stay in places that the government knew were not deemed safe. This is what this register is addressing.
Currently, the government does require anyone it has a funding agreement with to meet a set of standards. However, this part of the bill proposes a new level of legislative recognition. Such a register would not preclude people on individual support packages or any future national disability insurance scheme from spending their funding where they choose.
A number of groups through the consultation expressed a wish to see official visitor roles created for aged-care facilities. This is an issue we examined. However, the ACT does not have jurisdictional responsibility for this because the federal government has the funding responsibility for residential aged care. We recognise this is another area where there are vulnerable people. However, due to jurisdictional funding issues we do not believe it is possible to address this in the bill at this time.
There will need to be discussion about the financial impact of this bill. We have been able to gather data via questions on notice about the funds provided to existing official visitors per annum. The five mental health official visitors are funded $75,000 a year. The main corrections official visitor is funded up to $34,000 per annum, while the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander official visitor’s position is unfunded and is absorbed into the ACT Corrective Services existing budget. The official visitor for children and young people is entitled to about $30,000 per annum.
I have made a number of requests to the government to be provided with the costings, including most recently this week directly to the Chief Minister. However, they have not as yet been provided. I would again like to formally request that the government work to provide this information. On costs, I believe it is important that we consider the costs of not providing a role such as the official visitor, in particular for disability.
What is the cost of someone being in unsafe care and the impact it has on their life and their loved one, or if this places their life in danger? I actually find it extraordinary that we do not have a disability official visitor in the ACT, despite it being recommended a number of times, most recently in the multi-party Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Health, Community and Social Services report into respite.
In conclusion, I note again that I do intend to prepare an explanatory statement and thank members for allowing me to table the bill today. I acknowledge the standing orders that relate to the tabling of explanatory statements with bills and, as I said earlier, this is not a precedent that has been set. My office will provide a copy of the explanatory statement as soon as possible and make this available to the respective government ministers and Liberal spokespeople.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video