Northern Disability Hub

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (14:58): My question is for the Minister for Disabilities. Can the minister provide the house with an update about matters raised during the day-long roundtable discussions and any outcomes in relation to a disability hub in the northern suburbs?

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:59): I thank the member for Florey for her question, and I also thank her and the member for Napier who attended the discussions last week or the week before.

As members would be aware, at the last election the government committed $400,000 to undertake a feasibility study into a new northern disability hub. The first stage of the engagement process for the study commenced last Thursday at Mawson Lakes. I was very pleased to welcome consumers of disability services and service providers, as well as local councils and other stakeholders in the northern suburbs, to the first stage of consultation for this project.

With the growth of the disability sector over the next few years, as we transition to the NDIS, it is paramount that we as a government help prepare the sector for this growth. One of the areas about the hub that we are looking into is how we can ensure that we have an adequate workforce to support the sector when we transition to the full NDIS scheme in 2018-19. There are obviously many challenges with this; however, I believe there are also great opportunities.

As many members from the northern suburbs would know, employment is one of the most important issues facing the northern Adelaide areas in the coming years. The government is committed to ensuring that there is a clear job pathway in new and growing sectors. The disability sector is one such sector which has experienced and will continue to experience growth as we move to the full NDIS.

Many groups at the discussions raised the need to make disability work more attractive and to better educate people on the many different careers available within the sector. Unfortunately, many people may not view work in the disability sector as a career path and do not understand the wide range of different opportunities that are available in the sector. There is a clear need to create a positive view of working with people with disability.

Some of the key issues that came out of discussions included: the need for more hands-on training, the involvement of people with a disability in the development of the curriculum for training, the capacity for more work experience and volunteer opportunities, encouraging those agencies which deliver services to involve clients in the design of service delivery, and the need for a better interface between training and the sector.

Participants at the discussions also discussed what type of infrastructure, both hard and soft, would help improve outcomes for people with disability in the northern suburbs. Many great suggestions were made by participants on the day, such as better data and information sharing and the co-location of services. I was very pleased that a wide range of consumers, from parents to carers, to people living with a disability and service providers, attended the discussions. As we progress the feasibility study, I look forward to continuing to consult with these groups and other local members from the northern suburbs.