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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-07-03 Daily Xml
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Financial Wellbeing Program

Mr MURRAY (Davenport) (14:43): My question is to the Minister for Child Protection. Can the minister please update the house on her department's restructure of delivery of the financial wellbeing services?

The Hon. R. SANDERSON (Adelaide—Minister for Child Protection) (14:43): Thank you to the member for Davenport.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Badcoe is warned for a second and final time.

Mr Picton interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Kaurna is warned.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON: The Department for Child Protection's core function is a provision of the statutory child protection services. The focus of my department is on the safety of those at risk: children and young people in care and the protection of those who need to enter the out-of-home care system. The decision made to restructure the financial wellbeing program came when it was evident that the government was resourcing the delivery of services that were predominantly and expertly already being delivered by the non-government sector through the Department of Human Services.

Instead, the decision was made for my department to focus on core business and to repurpose $1 million of funding to bolster existing financial wellbeing services, a decision that was supported by SACOSS in its State Budget Snapshot 2018-19 report, and I quote:

Financial counselling services are important for some families in contact with child protective services. We believe these services are best provided in an NGO setting and so support their outsourcing.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. R. SANDERSON: The transition process has been one which my department has been working through since September last year. At the time of estimates, my department had intended to undertake a tender process. However, following a thorough review and scan of the market it became clear that to undertake a competitive tender process would have been financially inefficient, as the same providers who engaged with the Department of Human Services most likely would have submitted a bid.

In February 2019, the State Procurement Board approved an acquisition plan for the Department for Child Protection to enter direct negotiations with DHS, Relationships Australia and CREATE. Since then, a memorandum of administrative agreement has been executed by my department with DHS. The agreement will see approximately $700,000 of funding transferred to DHS for them to extend funding to existing financial service providers throughout the state from the start of this financial year. There is no doubt, however, that these arrangements require without exception that DCP money will be spent on DCP clients.

Relationships Australia and CREATE offer specialist post-care support to care leavers. Relationships Australia will receive a further $243,000 in funding to extend the department's investment for young people transitioning from care and will include financial and budgeting education and support. CREATE will receive $57,000, and has secured a licence for three years for the CREATE Your Future program aimed at young people aged 15 to 25. The program provides the relevant skills and knowledge to effectively transition from care to independence, including managing finances, the rental housing market and more.

In addition, foster care agencies will continue to deliver support and guidance to carers around managing finances as part of the process they engage in to ensure the stability of foster care placements. Within my department, a total of 59 FTE positions were affected by this decision. At the time of the announcement, the DCP chief executive officer, Cathy Taylor—

Ms Stinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Badcoe is on two warnings and will cease interjecting.

The Hon. R. SANDERSON: —immediately engaged with the affected workforce, DCP employees as a whole, stakeholders, clients and the PSA. My department has engaged in a transparent process for the past nine months, not only in assisting the affected staff but in educating all staff about the transition arrangements.

Targeted voluntary separation packages were offered across all government departments, including DCP. While the total number of TVSPs accepted is yet to be confirmed, I can advise that all but two staff members who are engaged in the work of financial wellbeing counselling will either remain employed within my department in an alternative role or have chosen to accept a TVSP. The other two staff members have secured employment outside of my department. All cases have been transferred.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order, sir: the minister is clearly reading from a document and quoted advice from her department, the procurement board and Cathy Taylor, and I would ask that she table all that advice.

The SPEAKER: I believe that the minister may have been referring to copious notes. I don't think the minister said that she was quoting from anything. I will ask for the document that was being referred to to please be provided up here, and if it has to be tabled, the house will order so. Then I will ask the member for West Torrens for a question.

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