❓ Hon Sue Ellery questions the Minister for Disability Services regarding WA's participation in NDIS launch sites and the allocation of funds if WA is excluded. The Minister expresses frustration with the Commonwealth's lack of engagement despite WA's readiness and highlights ongoing negotiations.
AnsweredQoN 542Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME —
LAUNCH SITES
542. Hon SUE ELLERY to the Minister for Disability Services:
I refer to the launch sites for a National Disability
Insurance Scheme.
(1) What is the
current status of the impasse on whether Western Australia will participate in
the launch sites?
(2) If WA will
not be participating, will the $135 million the Premier has said WA would
contribute to an NDIS launch site be allocated to the My Way trials?
LAUNCH SITES
542. Hon SUE ELLERY to the Minister for Disability Services:
I refer to the launch sites for a National Disability
Insurance Scheme.
(1) What is the
current status of the impasse on whether Western Australia will participate in
the launch sites?
(2) If WA will
not be participating, will the $135 million the Premier has said WA would
contribute to an NDIS launch site be allocated to the My Way trials?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for this question, because it gives me another chance to talk
about where Western Australia is up to in trying to advance a launch site under
the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
For people to understand the
importance of this, the most important aspect of the NDIS is that people will
be able to move away from a notion of rationed services or rationed resources,
to one of entitlement. The promise under an NDIS is that the funding would not
be constrained to a set budget; it would be there as an entitlement for all
people who require a certain level of resources to enable them to have a
quality of life, irrespective of diagnosis or cause.
When Western Australia put forward
to the commonwealth government our options or requirement to host a launch site
under the current program, it was recognised by the Prime Minister as having
most of the other elements that make up the NDIS model; things like
individualised funding, self-managed services, the very robust not-for-profit
sector, local area coordinators operating throughout the state, and 20 years'
experience of putting together the components that the commonwealth is now
modelling the NDIS concept on. Western Australia put a proposal to the
commonwealth government asking it to match Western Australia's $135 million
for a launch site in four areas that we have already progressed to operate a My
Way project in. The My Way project actually outlines quite clearly the further
progression we are making in Western Australia towards things like person-centred
approaches and self-directed services et cetera, which are absolutely in line
with the NDIS.
Unfortunately, the commonwealth
government has continued to knock back Western Australia's offer to
launch an NDIS site in Western Australia. I do not believe it has been knocked
back because of the money, although I do not believe the commonwealth has the
money to provide that service. I think the commonwealth would probably like
Western Australia to be part of a launch site because it is the only offer that
been put to it that has a remote location involved; one of our locations was in
Kalgoorlie and the remote areas. The other sites are very restricted and small
in terms of what they are offering. However, as late as yesterday and the day
before further negotiations have been taking place with the commonwealth to try
to get the commonwealth to engage with us on this because we want to be part of
the launch site. The main reason we want to be part of it is because of the
extra funding that would flow into those launch sites for families and people
with a disability in Western Australia. Without the commonwealth funding—without
it wanting to partner with us in this project—it will become extremely
difficult for the Western Australian government to find the extra dollars
necessary to match what might be available if the commonwealth does not put any
money into Western Australia in any way, shape or form.
However, as I said, negotiations are
continuing, and we hope the commonwealth will have a change of heart on this
and will not deny Western Australian families and people with a disability the
same funding that will go to other states.
thank the member for this question, because it gives me another chance to talk
about where Western Australia is up to in trying to advance a launch site under
the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
For people to understand the
importance of this, the most important aspect of the NDIS is that people will
be able to move away from a notion of rationed services or rationed resources,
to one of entitlement. The promise under an NDIS is that the funding would not
be constrained to a set budget; it would be there as an entitlement for all
people who require a certain level of resources to enable them to have a
quality of life, irrespective of diagnosis or cause.
When Western Australia put forward
to the commonwealth government our options or requirement to host a launch site
under the current program, it was recognised by the Prime Minister as having
most of the other elements that make up the NDIS model; things like
individualised funding, self-managed services, the very robust not-for-profit
sector, local area coordinators operating throughout the state, and 20 years'
experience of putting together the components that the commonwealth is now
modelling the NDIS concept on. Western Australia put a proposal to the
commonwealth government asking it to match Western Australia's $135 million
for a launch site in four areas that we have already progressed to operate a My
Way project in. The My Way project actually outlines quite clearly the further
progression we are making in Western Australia towards things like person-centred
approaches and self-directed services et cetera, which are absolutely in line
with the NDIS.
Unfortunately, the commonwealth
government has continued to knock back Western Australia's offer to
launch an NDIS site in Western Australia. I do not believe it has been knocked
back because of the money, although I do not believe the commonwealth has the
money to provide that service. I think the commonwealth would probably like
Western Australia to be part of a launch site because it is the only offer that
been put to it that has a remote location involved; one of our locations was in
Kalgoorlie and the remote areas. The other sites are very restricted and small
in terms of what they are offering. However, as late as yesterday and the day
before further negotiations have been taking place with the commonwealth to try
to get the commonwealth to engage with us on this because we want to be part of
the launch site. The main reason we want to be part of it is because of the
extra funding that would flow into those launch sites for families and people
with a disability in Western Australia. Without the commonwealth funding—without
it wanting to partner with us in this project—it will become extremely
difficult for the Western Australian government to find the extra dollars
necessary to match what might be available if the commonwealth does not put any
money into Western Australia in any way, shape or form.
However, as I said, negotiations are
continuing, and we hope the commonwealth will have a change of heart on this
and will not deny Western Australian families and people with a disability the
same funding that will go to other states.
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