Page 1247 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 7 May 2014
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the commonwealth so that we can be very clear with our community. I am overly conscious that we have seven weeks to the start of this and I remain frustrated at the delay that occurs, but the delay is not ours.
I am more than happy to release and promote the phase-in for disability services, and I am more than happy to provide regular updates to the Assembly on the implementation. This is serious and major reform: make no mistake about that. I anticipate that for families and individuals there is a level of anxiety, but to say that there is no communication or conversation with those folk is simply not true. As I have said, not a week will go by when there is not a forum or a conversation happening. I have attended a forum around supported accommodation. I know staff have made contact and will continue to make contact with each member of a group home and with services as people come into services.
I hope that people accept the amendments. They are sensible. Indeed, they give greater depth to what Mr Wall is trying to do. I note that Mr Wall has already issued a media release saying he is calling for greater work, and I just hope he underscores the fact that the ACT government is ready to go. The hold-up is not with us. We need to get on with this. Maybe he can approach his federal counterpart and encourage them to get on with their part of the job and sign the deal.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (6.18): I thank Mr Wall for bringing forward this motion today because the implementation of the NDIS is an important issue. This is probably the most fundamental change to the provision of services to people with a disability that we have ever seen. The funding model shift will mean that individuals and families will be able to make their own decisions about where to access their services and where they want their support to be allocated. This will enable a better level of empowerment for those with a disability, hopefully better choice of service delivery models, and potentially a vibrant and diverse service delivery sector.
While that is at its heart about empowering people with a disability, it comes with a range of risks and challenges that will likely become more apparent as the implementation comes closer. There is the risk of people with a disability not being informed, supported and empowered to make the decisions that they need to make. There is the risk that service delivery agencies are not up and running or the options available inside the ACT are limited. And the third risk is the implications of accessing private services that participants have not realised and that will emerge later—extra costs that may not have been anticipated, the little extras that people had not realised were provided by their government service in the past.
There will be difficulties with the changeover. There will be concerns from parents and individuals and issues will need to be ironed out across the system. With any change as big as this there are concerns about not being ready. This is especially relevant for service providers who are looking for clear guidance about what is going to happen after 1 July.
Therapy ACT has a long history in Canberra. It is an amalgamation of a number of government services—the child health and development services, which merged with staff from adult disability service provision. Over its life the organisation has existed
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