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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-02-22 Daily Xml
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Community Connections Program

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel) (15:08): Recently, my office was contacted by Ms Yolande Law, of Woodside, an unpaid carer for her good friend, Mr Graham Crocker. Graham lives with a chronic mobility-impairing health condition. Yolande cares for Graham in her home. She approached my office because she needed supportive railing installed both inside and outside her house, alongside a wheelchair, in order to minimise the risk of Graham falling.

Graham is not eligible for support under the NDIS, and at the moment is not old enough for the My Aged Care scheme. I have been informed that Graham and others who are unable to receive NDIS or My Aged Care may be eligible for the 12-week Community Connections program funded by the Department of Human Services. The program, amongst other things, makes provisions for home-based health support through care partners in the Adelaide metropolitan, Eyre and Far North, Flinders and Upper North, Riverland, Mallee, Coorong, Limestone Coast, and Yorke and Northern local health network regions.

The Adelaide Hills region does not have a care partner. This means that due to the sole fact that Yolande resides in the Adelaide Hills, she is unable to access this short-term support to ensure a safe environment is provided for Graham. I note that residents of metropolitan South Australia who are receiving services under the Community Connections program are eligible for separate funding to install home-based equipment under the Community Connections stream of the DHS equipment program.

While Community Connections itself is a short-term program, grants under the DHS equipment program may provide a more permanent support. Yolande is not able to access the longer-term support offered under the equipment program due to the fact that she resides in the Adelaide Hills. Yolande or anyone else in a similar situation is treated differently to someone in metropolitan Adelaide.

Members of my community have expressed significant concern that people like Graham who are ineligible for the NDIS or My Aged Care are falling through the gaps. Those with chronic health conditions not covered by the NDIS are required to wait until they are 65 years old in order to qualify for My Aged Care support. This can mean decades of living without sufficient support or funding.

It was strongly expressed to me by my community that this general lack of support is further exacerbated by funding and program structures which serve to disadvantage rural South Australians. It is simply not right that one should miss out on crucial funding and support solely because they do not have a metropolitan postcode. This is an important issue and one which must be addressed to safeguard the quality of life for some of our community's most vulnerable people.

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