Baptist Care SA

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:44): Thank you, Mr President. My question is a very sensible and responsible question for the Minister for Human Services about NDIS. Can the minister please update the chamber about the work of Baptist Care SA and the opportunities for all NDIS service providers in South Australia in the transition of services to the scheme?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for her interest in this area and for her question. I was very pleased to attend the annual conference of Baptist Care SA on Monday 10 September at the Clovercrest Baptist Church, which was also attended by the member for Wright. The Baptist Care Conference is, from my understanding, put on for its staff and its title this year was From Adversity to Opportunity. It was focusing on BCSA services spanning over some 100 years in supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged people to reconnect in the community.

In relation to the NDIS, there is due to be an expansion of the market in South Australia from the current $750 million, through grants that are provided to providers annually, to $1.5 billion in South Australia to some 32,000 participants at full scheme once they have all transitioned. Baptist Care is part of that. A number of non-government providers have a range of opportunities to provide innovative and client-focused services to participate more fully in attracting their clients.

Baptist Care has a range of services in South Australia. It was created in 1913 and has grown to have more than 1,200 dedicated and professional staff delivering vital services throughout South Australia. These include NDIS, as I have mentioned, accommodation and homelessness services, programs for Aboriginal South Australians, refugee services, education and training and chaplaincy services. Their purpose statement is: 'Finding ways to make people's lives better'.

I was very pleased to open the conference. There were a number of keynote speakers, in particular Mr Paul Nixon, Deputy Chief Executive, Chief Social Worker and Director of Professional Practice at Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children in New Zealand. He is a highly qualified practitioner in child protection in a range of areas. He is originally from the UK and now works in New Zealand. There were speakers on NDIS: how can we make it a positive experience? Obviously, there are a lot of challenges. There was a range of other speakers and I can happily provide that to members for their interest if they would like to have a look at the program.

I congratulate Baptist Care on having such an interesting program, and wish them well in their future directions.