Page 3484 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 22 October 2014
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continue raising concern or heightening anxiety for families by saying that these organisations are not ready. Clearly, they are ready. They have put in a tender. They have been supported through a rigorous tender process through the NDIA so that they will be ready to go.
The NDIS means that families now no longer have to slot into conventional programs that the ACT government has traditionally delivered. There will be opportunities for families to seek new supports that best meet their needs.
The NDIS is about change. It is about improving outcomes for people with a disability. We know that by investing in early intervention for children there will be real benefits for each child, for their families and for the lives of these children as they move through to their adult years.
This process is not an easy one, and I know that for some families the prospect of change is overwhelming. But as I said yesterday, and Mr Wall made reference to it, uncertainty must be confronted and not used as an excuse for delay. The NDIS has the potential to change our society, and change it for the better.
The government is supporting families through this period of change and offering regular updates about the transition of services to community providers. We will inform families about the new providers as soon as we can. There will be an open day on 17 November to allow families the chance to meet and interact with the new providers. Let me repeat that: the tender process will be completed. There will be community providers known and announced, and an opportunity for Canberra families to meet them on 17 November has already been locked in.
The tender process means we will be able to provide families with certainty about the new services and offer financial security to providers while allowing them time to adjust to the new model. It will give the market time to mature, while ensuring services are operating as that occurs.
The NDIS is a vital reform, and I am proud that the ACT is a trial site. We will be the first jurisdiction to have all eligible participants enter the scheme in two years. This government has a clear plan and we are doing all we can to put in place quality early intervention services that will deliver positive outcomes for Canberra families for next year and for many years to come.
I have said in this place, and I will continue to say, that children will be supported through this transition. It is change; there is no doubt about that. And for some families change brings areas of concern. I want to do all I can to make sure that that concern is relieved and not heightened through misinformation.
The National Disability Insurance Agency is finalising the tender process that will deliver community-based organisations for the provision of early intervention services for the beginning of the school year next year. There are currently approximately 300 young ones in these early intervention programs delivered by Education and Training. Of those, 160 or thereabouts will move through to either preschool or kindergarten years, and they will continue to be supported within those formal school structures, and their disability will be supported in those structures.
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