News & Important Issues
Rocky Bay Service Review
The subcommittee that was chaired by Bruce Dufty would like to thank all our clients with Muscular Dystrophy and their families and Rocky Bay staff who participated in the survey to see how well Rocky Bay meets quality outcomes for this population. We had a 21% response rate. The management team is now reviewing the recommendations. We will communicate again via our website, newsletter or through our teams directly.
If you wish to ask any questions about the outcomes of the survey, you can cotnact Linda Chiu 6399 4100 or Frances Buchanan 9383 5173.
Newsletter – March 2011 (CEO)
It is an interesting time to be associated with the Community sector in Western Australia. There are many political agendas both Federal and State with Disability fortunately now listed as a priority with policies highlighted for reform.
As a long established and respected organisation, Rocky Bay is included in these discussions and we (our staff and clients) are privileged to have a voice at such a crucial point in the history of the sector.
The two highest profile items being discussed are the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), currently under review with the Productivity Commission (detail at www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/disability-support/draft) and the Economic Audit Committee (EAC) review into the Community Sector of Western Australia (updates are available at www.dpc.wa.gov.au/Publications/EconomicAuditReport).
Why do we need a National Disability Insurance Scheme?
Most Australians assume that if people are born with a disability or acquire one later in life, that some system, somewhere, will take care of them. Unfortunately this is not always the case. In affluent, democratic Australia, people with a disability and their families are often left to struggle alone every day.
Over 2 million people with disabilities, their families, carers and disability organisations such as Rocky Bay, now expect fundamental reform to the system which is supposed to help them live their lives. An NDIS has the propensity to change the way services are funded and delivered. It is a social reform on the scale of Medicare and compulsory superannuation - two safety nets Australian voters now take for granted.
An NDIS based on a person-centred, whole-of-life approach will focus on investing in people to maximise independence and participation in economic and social life. It is the complete opposite of the current “begging bowl” welfare-focused, crisis-driven system. The NDIS will potentially eliminate the chaotic, ad-hoc, uncoordinated maze of disability systems which add more obstacles and significant stress to the lives of people with disabilities and their families.
Disability statistics at a glance (from a recent government funded study)
· 1 in 5 people in Australia (3,958,300 or 20%) have a disability
· Approximately 1.245 million people (6.3%) reported a severe or profound disability
· About 1 in 12 children aged up to 14 years, had a disability (8.3 per cent of all children)
· Half of these (1 in 24) had a severe or profound limitation
· Now: 1.4 million people with serious disability
· 2030: 2.9 million people with serious disability
· People with disabilities have the same poor health and lifespan as indigenous Australians
· People with mental illness, intellectual or developmental disability or a previously acquired brain injury are over-represented in the criminal justice system
Families forced to fill the gaps – disability system disables entire families
700,000 mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters act as unpaid primary carers.
They are unable to work or participate in everyday life because they provide 24/7 care to a family member with disability, sometimes from cradle to grave. They represent the poorest two-fifths of all households and have the lowest collective wellbeing of any group surveyed, with an average rating of moderate depression.
As the population ages, the number of people with a disability will increase. At the same time, the number of unpaid carers willing and able to provide support will likely decrease. A 10% decrease in unpaid care equates to an estimated 40% increase in paid services.
How an NDIS will improve the current system
Ø Guaranteed, recurrent funding based on independent assessment of need, not pot-luck receipt of funding based on location or reason for disability
Ø Smarter use of money by putting individuals at the centre of the process, not bureaucracies – because the majority of people with disabilities and their families know better than anyone what they need to participate in daily life and plan responsibly for their futures. People with decision-making impairment should be able to have those who know and love them best play the major role in deciding what meets their needs best
Ø Forward planning to prepare for key transition stages (childhood, school, post-school, adult life) will drive change from crisis-driven, begging bowl mentality to investing in people – knowing that different needs require different strategies/supports to achieve longer term goals, such as education, careers planning and independent living
NDIS key concepts
Universal: Any Australian who is born with or acquires a significant level of disability is entitled to funding and services to enable them to receive services needed to support their inclusion in all aspects of ordinary Australian life.
Eligibility: Transparent, portable and nationally consistent assessment. If you are eligible in one state or territory of Australia, you are eligible everywhere else in Australia, without further assessment.
Self-managed funding: Where the person with the disability and/or their family can decide the best use of the money to meet their individual needs. This is the opposite of the current block-funded system, where federal money for specific disability purposes allocated to states filters down through administrative layers. Eventually some of it reaches the person with the disability; however illogical policies and rules dictate how the money may be spent regardless of whether it meets needs.
Funding source: A Medicare-type levy was proposed by the Disability Investment Group (DIG). Not every Australian needs to use Medicare medical insurance. However in general if you need medical services in Australia you are entitled to them under the Medicare system. The opposite applies with disability. Not everyone may have a disability or acquire a disability, but if you do there is no legal entitlement to the disability services you may need.
Productivity Commission: The NDIS is being assessed by the Productivity Commission, which has received 604 written submissions and more verbal submissions – more than any other inquiry in its history. It released its draft report in February 2011 for public discussion and further submissions in April 2011. The final report is due to be tabled before Federal Parliament in July 2011.
What is the EAC hoping to achieve?
As part of a review of government efficiency, process and relationships an Economic Audit Committee was established. From the initial report a series of recommendations were made to the Premier. He subsequently invited the community sector to work with the State Government to make many of these recommendations reality. Over the past 12 months there have been a number ob meetings, consultations and forums to facilitate this process and we will hear in the next few months as to how government will work with the sector in the future. During the process a number of positive statements indicating their likely future commitment have been made.
“This Government trusts the community sector and it is demonstrating that trust by building funding and contracting arrangements that recognise the valuable mission of the community sector and allowing Community Sector Organisations to focus their resources on achieving better outcomes for Western Australians.”
“In many ways, not-for-profit Organisations play an important role in the wellbeing of our State. They support those in need and often play a valuable role in advocating their interests. These Organisations bring a strength of social mission and public purpose to their activities, and empathise with the interests of those they serve. Not only do Organisations of this nature offer greater cost-efficiency and improved social quality, but freed from excessive controls and reporting, they have the proximity and will, connection to their clients and flexibility to drive social innovation in meeting citizens’ needs.”
In order to achieve better outcomes for Western Australians, the EAC is drafting a policy that government will need to adhere to and this will facilitate a genuine partnership between public sector agencies and not?for?profit organisations by:
· promoting flexibility, innovation and community responsiveness in the funding or contracting of services by public sector agencies, to better meet community needs;
· encouraging a more productive working relationship between public sector agencies and not-for-profit organisations based on trust, collaboration, accountability and effective and sustainable service delivery;
· clarifying when services are to be put out to open tender and when a more targeted non-market based approach is more appropriate;
· reducing “red tape”, complexities and inconsistencies, and standardising terminology to clarify the dialogue between the parties; and
· ensuring that public sector agencies contract with not-for-profit organisations in a manner that supports sustainable service delivery and recognises the importance of ongoing organisational viability.
I, on behalf of Rocky Bay have been heavily involved in this agenda and I have been extremely pleased by the way in which the agencies and in particular the staff of Department of Premier and Cabinet and Department of Treasury and Finance have embraced the need for change, the need for additional funding and the need for a more appropriate form of collaboration into the future. Now the benefits need to be delivered and it is incumbent upon the sector to make them work for our clients and staff.
Other significant items on the agenda include the touted introduction of a Charities Commission or similar to both regulate and hopefully better facilitate the Not-for-Profit sector at a Federal level and also the work being conducted in the Federal arena around a national award and fair pay agreement.
All of these agendas have the propensity, for those optimists amongst us, to make significant and positive change for all involved in our sector and the real potential for sustained improvement to the lives of the clients we support.
Michael Tait
