Page 3977 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 25 November 2014
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I recently received the National Disability Insurance Agency’s fifth quarterly report. This shows there were 103 approved plans in the ACT during the first three months of operation. These numbers will rise significantly as more and more families make plans with the NDIA before the end of this calendar year.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Dr Bourke.
DR BOURKE: Minister, can other organisations register with the NIDA to deliver these services? How can families engage with these organisations if they wish to do so?
MS BURCH: I thank Dr Bourke for his interest. While we have six organisations ready to offer supports from 2015, other organisations can continue to register to provide the early intervention supports. This is because the contracts are non-exclusive. If families wish to use a different provider, they can. They could, for example, choose providers such as the Royal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children or the Shepherd Centre or Vision Australia.
While these specialist services are not under contract with the NDIA, they are still registered to provide supports for children with hearing and vision impairments. In fact, there are a range of organisations currently registered with the NDIA offering early intervention services across the ACT. At last count I think there were 17. And there are more specialist services coming into the sector over time.
This is good news for parents as it offers more choice when it comes to finding the right fit for their child. I encourage other providers thinking about offering early intervention services in the ACT to register with the agency as soon as possible. The government have been working hard to ensure that families are connected to as many early intervention providers as possible. We have gone from having one provider of early intervention—that was us—to at least 14 in such a short time. I think that is indeed a good outcome for Canberra families.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Porter.
MS PORTER: Minister, can you tell us more about these contracts that have been finalised for the provision of services, and particularly what services will be delivered at these locations that you mentioned?
MS BURCH: I thank Ms Porter for her question. There will be a range of services on offer from these six organisations that have been contracted through the NDIA. There are also those that are available because they are non-exclusive contracts. I made reference to the open day at Hedley Beare. The additional providers at that open day that can provide services to Canberra families are groups such as As One, ACT All Abilities Occupational Therapy, Community Options, Neurospace, Therapy 4 Kids, the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, the Shepherd Centre, and Vision Australia. More providers will come online as they register with the National Disability Insurance Agency.
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