Page 847 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 22 March 2017
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ACT has of course been at the forefront of those challenges, and many organisations have had to problem-solve their way around the new processes. It is inevitable that with the rollout of such a significant new scheme there will be some hiccups along the way. It is crucial that the government continue to work with organisations on a case-by-case basis to manage any issues that may arise as the transition to the NDIS progresses.
The intention, of course, as we all know, with NDIS is to ensure that people who have a disability have greater control as to how the money allocated for them—in effect their money—is spent and to enable them to purchase the services that they need to improve their quality of life.
During the initial trial period the NDIS focused on providing individually funded packages for eligible people with a disability, and this reflected the role of the services that work directly with clients on a daily basis. But it did not even cover the important capacity building and community support work that organisations such as SHOUT do. With the full rollout of the NDIS underway, this issue is now being addressed.
The NDIA has opened funding rounds to support information, linkages and capacity building services, or ILCs. Unlike the rest of the NDIS, ILC will provide grants to organisations to carry out capacity building activities, making sure that our community becomes more accessible and inclusive of people with a disability and their families.
Up to $3 million is available for ACT organisations through this funding round and applications closed on 8 March 2017. I understand, as Minister Stephen-Smith has said, that SHOUT were made aware of this, and were encouraged to apply for this funding round as part of their ongoing conversations with the government.
Support has also been provided to SHOUT to help the organisation prepare for NDIS transition, including a $20,000 grant in 2014 to support adjustments to the new NDIS funding environment. The ACT government also secured $124,790 in transition funding for SHOUT from the commonwealth for 2016-17. Following a delay in processing the ILC funding round, the minister announced that the government negotiated a further two-month extension to the transition funding allowance until August 2017.
I know that there have been delays and some uncertainty in the community sector with regard to NDIS funding. The Greens will of course continue to monitor the progress of the NDIA rollout of ILC funding over the next few months to ensure that small community groups are being supported through this process. The Greens are committed to ensuring that organisations are not left behind or falling through the cracks as a result of the NDIS transition. It is also important that these organisations are given as much stability and certainty as possible with regard to their funding into the future.
I am pleased to provide my support for the amendment proposed by the government because, crucially, it calls on the minister to continue to work with SHOUT and other community organisations and to support them through the NDIS transition.
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