Question regarding the impact of shifting people with disabilities from the Disability Support Pension to the lower Newstart Allowance on fees, charges, and funding for disability services in WA.

AnsweredQoN 2139Legislative Council
Asked
23 October 2014
Portfolio
Disability Services

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the fees and charges charged to people with a disability living in Disability Services Commission facilities, and I ask: (a) if people are shifted from the disability support pension to the lower paying Newstart allowance, will it impact on the cost recovery capacity of the Disability Services Commission; (b) if a person is shifted from a disability support pension to the lower paying Newstart allowance, do the fees and charges charged to that person remain at 75 per cent of their welfare income, or are they expected to continue to be charged the same dollar figure amount as when they were receiving the disability support pension; (c) is the same formula of 75 per cent of income being applied to fees and charges applied by disability sector organisations providing housing to people with a disability; and (d) if people with a disability are shifted to the Newstart allowance and the cost recovery capacity of disability sector organisations is negatively impacted, will the Disability Services Commission increase the amount of funding available to those organisations?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
17 February 2015
Responded by
Minister for Disability Services
Response time
117 days
a)  Yes
b) The fees and charges would remain at 75% of their Centrelink income.
c) Disability sector organisations set their own fees, hence they vary between organisations.
d) The Disability Services Commission funds individuals for disability-related supports.  This funding is separate to general cost-of-living arrangements.

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