Page 1243 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 7 May 2014

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“(1) (e) the Government’s approach on a gradual phase-out of provision of specialist disability services has been endorsed by the ACT Opposition;

(f) since the announcement of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the ACT Government has been closely consulting with people with a disability and their families, as well as service providers and staff, on the implementation of the scheme; and

(g) the ACT Government submitted its preferred phasing schedule to the Commonwealth earlier this year and despite detailed negotiations, is still awaiting agreement to proceed with an agreed schedule.”.

(2) Omit paragraph (2), substitute:

“(2) calls on the Minister for Disability, Children and Young People to:

(a) continue to seek sign-off from the Commonwealth on the phasing schedule, in order to end the uncertainty facing people with a disability and their families;

(b) release and promote the phasing plan for disability service provision, including Therapy ACT services, prior to 1 July 2014; and

The amendments clearly set out that we do support providing information to the community. I have not been backward in bringing forward the information that I have to hand back into the community. I am more than happy to give an update on the NDIS. This government is indeed ready to go. I understand, and I hear too, that people with a disability and their families are keen to know the information around the NDIS and how it will affect them. To indicate that there has been no communication with the community is simply false. I do not think there has been a week gone by since the announcement was made that there have not been different groups and forums for the community to come in and be part of different conversations—individuals, families and organisations.

Let us be clear that we in the ACT government are ready to go. I believe that the biggest hold-up now on detailed phasing comes because we have not got formal sign-off from the federal government. The ACT is ready to go, and in response to the community—and I will stand by this community each and every day in their need to know—just yesterday I wrote to the responsible federal minister spelling out what we are doing in the absence of a confirmed commonwealth agreement. I wrote:

The ACT is fully committed to a start date of 1 July 2014 and has invested significantly in preparing families, carers and service providers to be ready for the trial commencement.

Given the imminent start of the ACT trial we are commencing contract negotiations with our service providers to incrementally decrease their funding as clients enter the NDIS. This is consistent with the ACT goal to “cash out” as many services as possible.

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