DISABILITY SERVICES

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee) (14:15): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier provide the house with an update on the government's plans to reform disability services in South Australia?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:15): I thank the member for his question. In December last year, I announced a significant reform to disability support services in South Australia. The introduction of the new way of funding disability services—or individualised funding—is the centrepiece of this reform, and I am pleased—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —to advise the house that the first stage of this new system has now commenced. Letters were sent out to 2,250 existing disability service clients advising them they can now make choices about how their own funding allocation will be managed. Last Friday, I had the opportunity to meet a remarkable woman, Naomi Clarke. I went to her home. She had recently started receiving individualised funding and her story, I think, is a testament to how powerful the benefits of this new system will be.

Under the old system, Naomi was allocated 50 hours of support a week, but under self-managed funding, Naomi has been able to select a service provider that better suits her needs and has been able to negotiate for 60 hours of services per week instead of the previous 50. Those 10 additional hours of support enable Naomi to access overnight support, which ultimately will mean she will be able to stay at her family home with her husband, Paul. Otherwise, she would have had to stay away from home, which was very distressing for her and her husband.

She told me that the system had literally changed her life. The family can now plan ahead, knowing that they have full control over who comes into their house, what time carers come and go, and Naomi is now a purchaser of services rather than a recipient of services selected by a government agency. The family is even planning to go away to Kangaroo Island—something that seemed impossible just a few weeks ago—and Naomi is looking forward to returning to her former work as a photographer.

Just as we were at this premises, a woman who saw us with all of the cameras came from next door, and said, 'I am also a disability services client; my child has cerebral palsy.' She told of a similar story: she had respite care that she decided to roll up and use in a different way, which enabled her to grab back control of her life. She was able to buy some equipment, which meant that she did not need some additional support.

This has been the feature of the old system: people desperately trying to get what support they could get and frankly having to maximise the level of disability and what they don't have, to try and get as much as they can, and they hang on to that for dear life because they know resources are scarce. In this way, they have control of the resources, they get greater control over their own life, and this is making a massive benefit for not only their wellbeing, their sense of independence, and their dignity.