Financial Wellbeing Counselling Service

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (14:46): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. How many clients of the department's financial wellbeing counselling service will be transferred to a new service provider on 1 July?

The Hon. R. SANDERSON (Adelaide—Minister for Child Protection) (14:46): As I have said, I will bring back a full and comprehensive response regarding the future of financial counselling; however, what I will say is that, as part of the 2018-19 budget, the department reviewed its services and programs to ensure that they were aligned with the core business of keeping children safe from harm and neglect. This review highlighted the opportunity to restructure the delivery of financial counselling services.

In relation to financial wellbeing services, there are currently three departmental core areas of service delivery. These will all continue to be addressed in the future. There is reunification, which is working with front-line families, including supporting families to re-establish and maintain safe, healthy and financially stable home environments. There are carers working with children, setting them up for success. Currently, foster carers are already provided with financial counselling services via their foster care agency. That is part of their contract. There are also kinship carers, who are currently receiving financial counselling help through the department.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition!

The Hon. R. SANDERSON: The third area is young people transitioning from care. We have already instigated foster care payments and kinship care payments to the age of 21 to enable those young people to stay in a family environment where they will learn financial budgeting, cooking and all the life skills that they need from their family for longer—something that the Labor Party, in their 16 years, did nothing about. We also have—

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order, sir.

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order. Minister, be seated for one moment. There is a point of order.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: For debate, sir. She is clearly debating.

The SPEAKER: I will listen carefully. Minister.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON: I am clearly indicating how we are providing financial counselling services to our young people.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my right! Member for Kavel, you can leave for the rest of question time.

The honourable member for Kavel having withdrawn from the chamber:

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Thank you. I have the point of order via the member for Lee. I am listening to the minister's answer. I believe the content is germane to the question. I have written the question down. Member for Lee, I am listening to the answer carefully.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON: Other services that exist to help our young people transitioning from care are via the CREATE Foundation. They have a peer mentoring and also a Sortli app. We have also increased the funding to Relationships Australia. They also have a GOM Central app. Support is also available through both South Australian and commonwealth-funded programs, including TILA, which allows for $1,500 for a young person to set up their home.

There are also the Dame Roma Mitchell funding grants. I recently signed many letters for young people who are applying for grants to help with their future life, whether that be through education or setting up their homes. We have also funded a pilot program in the regions in Upper Spencer Gulf with Uniting Country, and that is a peer mentor group of young people who have lived experience of transitioning out of care, to help new young people transition to get help, to get work, to enrol in education.

So there is a lot that is being done under this government in order to give people financial stability, and there will be more announcements coming.

Mr PICTON: Point of order: given that the minister was reading directly from a document, I ask her to table that document.

The SPEAKER: The point of order is that if the minister was reading a public document, that it be tabled. On my view of it, member for Kaurna—and I always appreciate your points of order—in fairness to the minister, she was perusing what were notes.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I don't believe that she was reading.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition can leave for the rest of question time as well for commentary during my deliberation. This is completely unacceptable.

Mr Malinauskas: Yes, it is.

The SPEAKER: It is completely unacceptable. It is not on. I have put members on notice.

The honourable member for Croydon having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: We will move to the member for MacKillop and I will come back to the member for Badcoe. I would like to give the opposition over 20 questions today. But these points of order—some of which, in my humble opinion, may start to deviate into a soft nature—if you want to keep calling them you may, but I am trying to give you more questions today.