Impact Accelerator Program

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Disabilities. How will the impact accelerator program help disability service providers in South Australia?

The Hon. L.A. VLAHOS (Taylor—Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (15:02): I thank the member for her interest, and particularly for this question. The NDIS is creating a dramatic change in business practice in many disability service providers in our state. Providers are faced with a wide variety of options under the NDIS that are game-changers in the way they deliver services and how they implement them internally as service providers.

A business model that has worked in the past may not work in the future under individualised funding arrangements as we move into that space with the full introduction in July 2018. That is why the South Australian government is contributing $50,000 towards a pilot program, called the impact accelerator program, which is to be targeted at a select number of disability sector businesses. The impact accelerator is a pilot program that is a fast-paced 100-day program that will take 10 teams through an intensive and rigorous program to create new social ventures and new businesses for our state.

It provides opportunities for organisations to explore new ideas, develop new skills and explore their future business models as they move into this area. This is arguably one of the most exciting pieces of social reform our state and nation have seen in many, many years with the NDIS's birthing. Once the full transition occurs, there will be many new services and many new technologies that do not currently exist providing services to individualised care-orientated programs for consumers, directing their own decisions about what they buy in the marketplace.

It is about looking for fresh new ideas that will improve services for people with a disability but also provide new kinds of jobs for South Australians and new sorts of businesses for people to develop. Based on the latest estimates, once fully rolled out this will create more than 6,000 new jobs across our state and inject around $1.5 billion into our state's economy each year.

The impact accelerator program is part of South Australia's commitment to ensure the NDIS sector flourishes, is prepared and fully ready for the rollout in July 2018. I commend the work of the program team, and I look forward to hearing more about the developing job opportunities and new businesses that will flourish in this sector.