Page 2818 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Wall.
MR WALL: Minister, will you guarantee that there will be at least 300 placements available for children in need of early intervention services by the commencement of the 2015 school year?
MS BURCH: The NDIA is now in the middle of a tender process. It has called a tender for providers of services. This is the first type of purchasing that the National Disability Insurance Agency has undertaken. It has done it to ensure that it allows a market to be there and ready for 1 January next year when these services should be on-line. This is a first; to ensure that the market has time to grow into it.
Around 300 students are currently enrolled. I do not know what the enrolment figures are for next year. The bulk of those little ones that are currently in the services are moving through into preschool and into school, with different arrangements anyway. I do not have the enrolment figures. I do not have that information in front of me. But make no mistake, to those here in the Assembly: I made a commitment that from the beginning of term 4 we will advise families of those providers, and I will honour that commitment.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, will you guarantee that suitable premises will be available on an ongoing basis for any non-government service provider who successfully tenders for the provision of early intervention services?
MS BURCH: Certainly I made a commitment that existing facilities were to be made available through Education and Training, should they want to use them. Not every service will want to move in to a current arrangement. They may have their own premises. The Education and Training Directorate and the Community Services Directorate have certainly had briefings with those organisations that are interested, and the terms of the arrangements and availability have been made very clear and are available to those interested organisations.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, will you guarantee that all families currently receiving early intervention services provided by the ACT government will know exactly what services their children will be able to access by the end of the 2014 school year?
MS BURCH: The only services that are changing this year are the withdrawal of education and training early intervention services. Services through Therapy ACT will remain until the young child transitions into the NDIA or chooses to go into a community provider.
You are using the figure 300, again, I think, Mr Doszpot, or maybe I am just harking back to Mr Wall. Those are the numbers that were in the services this year. A number of those are moving on into preschool or school.
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