Page 2175 - Week 07 - Thursday, 7 August 2014
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I want to assure current clients that until they transition into the NDIS they will continue to receive the services they currently receive. The NDIA and existing government and non-government service providers are working together to make sure that their clients are supported through this change.
On 26 July this year the National Disability Services and the ACT government hosted a “meet the housing providers” expo, with organisations currently providing or proposing to provide in-home support and supported accommodation participating. The event was highly successful, with many people with a disability and their families currently living in supported accommodation provided by Disability ACT attending.
The NDIS needs to be supported by a strong non-government sector in the ACT. We know that about 64 service providers have registered with the NDIA, including Disability ACT, Therapy ACT and relevant ACT Health Directorate services. Other providers are registering with the NDIA since they released the ACT pricing schedule for services on 30 June this year. The ACT government has also extended service funding agreements with non-government organisations for up to two years to ensure that services are adequately funded for the trial period.
In terms of pricing, in order to develop the market nationally, the NDIA is aiming to deregulate its pricing in the longer term. At this early stage the NDIA has decided to develop a transitional approach to a benchmark efficient market price from 1 July 2016.
The ACT pricing schedule was adjusted in accordance with the recent NDIA pricing review conducted with National Disability Services. The NDIA pricing includes a transitional price of a 10 per cent loading for personal care and a 2.6 per cent loading for indexation.
I thank the ACT NDIS task force, led by Maureen Sheehan, who has worked with the NDIA since February this year to develop the pricing schedule for the ACT. The NDIS task force sought to inform the NDIA about the unique aspects of the ACT market and provided information about wages data, the high proportion of government services and the economies of scale in our local market. Consequently, the NDIA further adjusted the ACT pricing in order to sustain service providers for the first year of the trial.
Developing the market in the ACT has also meant supporting service providers to change their business model to operate under the new service and funding arrangements.
On 27 June I announced that 20 disability service providers, including the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Koomarri and Canberra Men’s Centre, shared $1 million worth of sector development funding to help prepare for the NDIS. Each organisation was granted a business investment package worth $50,000. The package allows organisations to select a consultant to provide business advice and mentoring, and implement reform plans and infrastructure improvements in readiness for the transition. We initially offered 10 packages and, given the demand, extended that to add an additional 10 organisations.
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