Page 2176 - Week 07 - Thursday, 7 August 2014
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Workforce is an important element of preparing for the NDIS. The ACT government decision to gradually withdraw from early intervention, therapy and supported accommodation services was needed to be able to develop the diverse and competitive services that people with disability can access. This decision was made with the knowledge that the existing government workforce would need to move to the non-government sector.
Madam Deputy Speaker, as you know, the ACT government and unions agreed to a memorandum of understanding of industrial relations arrangements for the implementation of the ACT trial of the national disability insurance scheme. This agreement provides a fair process to facilitate the movement of nearly 500 employees from the public sector to non-government employment over a three-year period. It balances a flexible approach to staffing with safeguards to ensure clients are not left without support.
All parties contributed to the negotiations positively and the agreement is a testament to their commitment to people with disability in the ACT. The agreement provides for all permanent affected officers to access a voluntary redundancy package once an affected worker makes a decision to leave the public service. A large part of the agreement concerns retraining to assist employees to be job ready and build capacity in the non-government sector.
My Assembly colleagues are aware that the Education and Training Directorate early intervention services will end by December this year and new non-government services will commence for the first term in 2015. The ACT NDIS task force engaged KPMG to meet with families, service providers and peak organisations about establishing new early intervention services.
KPMG have reported that there was significant interest in providing early intervention services amongst the 31 organisations interviewed. Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Northcott, House with No Steps, Yooralla, AEIOU, DUO, Catholic Care and Autism Spectrum Australia are interested in providing early intervention services in our local community.
I have said I would make available, for a limited time, facilities in schools to assist organisations in establishing their services. I made that decision as it will assist children to remain in familiar school surroundings for the time being. The Education and Training Directorate has audited its facilities used for early intervention programs and other possible sites that may be appropriate for use by non-government early intervention service providers.
The ACT NDIS task force, Therapy ACT and the Education and Training Directorate are also well into the planning for the expo of early intervention providers that will be held on 13 September this year as required by the Assembly motion of 4 June.
Therapy ACT services will gradually cease by December 2016. In the meantime Therapy ACT continues to provide its usual suite of services for children, young people and adults with disability. At this stage significant effort is being made in engaging with non-government providers interested in establishing therapy services in the ACT.
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