Ministerial Statement

Aspire Program Launch

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (14:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: Last week, I was pleased to officially launch the Aspire project, South Australia 's first social impact bond and the first in Australia to specifically target homelessness. Aspire will assist hundreds of vulnerable South Australians through employment, housing and personal support. Private investors contributed $9 million toward the bond issue, which is expected to yield an 8.5 per cent return once performance targets are met.

The concept of social impact investing involves calculating the potential financial savings associated with addressing complex social issues and then using those savings to reward the organisations that can deliver innovative solutions. In addition to directly helping homeless people, Aspire will also indirectly benefit many others, including supporting jobs in the non-government sector, as workers help some of the most vulnerable in our community. It is estimated that 600 people will connect with Aspire over the first four years of the program, with the majority actively engaging for up to three years. The whole program is expected to run for seven to eight years.

The state government is providing $6 million in seed funding between 2017 and 2021, after which payments will be linked to performance. We are targeting future savings of at least $20 million based on 900 fewer inpatient days, 350 fewer convictions and 1,800 fewer periods of crisis accommodation support. However, it is far more important to acknowledge an even bigger saving on which we cannot put a price—that is, preventing people from suffering health issues or personal crises that would have required intervention.

The program launch was held at the Hutt St Centre's new premises on Halifax Street, which has been leased to provide capacity for Aspire caseworkers. Hutt St's key partners in managing the program include Social Ventures Australia and community housing providers Common Ground Adelaide and Unity Housing.

I would like to acknowledge the heavy lifting done by my colleague the Minister for Health, who worked tirelessly to get this innovative project off the ground. I commend him for his foresight in bringing business, government and the not-for-profit sector together to tackle this complex social issue. Finally, innovations such as the Aspire Program demonstrate the state government's strong commitment to assisting those experiencing homelessness in our community and adopting new ways to solve old problems.

The SPEAKER: Before I call questions, I noticed my esteemed deputy had occasion to warn members in the pre-luncheon session, so many members are already on warnings.