House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Answers to Questions Supported Disability Accommodation SUPPORTED DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION Mr HANNA House of Assembly Mitchell SUPPORTED DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION 26 Mr HANNA (Mitchell) (30 September 2008). 1.	Why has the government failed to announce how many people within South Australia are on the supported disability accommodation list? 2.	How many people on this list are in urgent need of supported disability accommodation? The Hon. J.M. RANKINE House of Assembly Wright Minister for Families and Communities Minister for Northern Suburbs Minister for Housing Minister for Ageing Minister for Disability SUPPORTED DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Northern Suburbs, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability): I provide the following information: Prior to the establishment of Disability SA there were numerous supported accommodation waiting lists in use by various disability agencies. This did not enable an accurate understanding of the total number of people waiting for supported accommodation, as many people were on more than one list, and the lists were not kept up-to-date. Following the establishment of Disability SA, people requiring supported accommodation were re-assessed to create a single waiting list, and were assigned new priority ratings. This established a more accurate and clear picture. When supported accommodation vacancies arise, they are allocated on the basis of priority of need and also suitability. The list is not a 'wait-in-turn' system and therefore the list will fluctuate. Numbers of people on the list will vary from day to day. Therefore there has not been a tradition of releasing waiting list data. As part of negotiations for a new disability agreement, states and territories have agreed to work with the commonwealth government on developing a nationally consistent approach to measuring all unmet needs, including supported accommodation.