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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-07-24 Daily Xml
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DISABILITYCARE AUSTRALIA

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:48): I would like today to pay tribute to colleagues, as well as the former prime minister of Australia the Hon. Julia Gillard, who have worked hard to see not just the talk but the fruition of an insurance scheme in the provision of disability services. The recent state budget significantly lifted disability funding in preparation for the national disability insurance scheme, known as DisabilityCare Australia. It commits $3.6 billion over six years in preparation for the full commencement of DisabilityCare Australia in 2018.

South Australia is taking a staged approach to the implementation of the scheme and is commencing with children aged from birth to two years, transitioning over the first three months, extending to children aged five over the following nine months. On 1 July, minister Tony Piccolo attended a function at Novita Children's Services to celebrate the beginning of the South Australian launch site for DisabilityCare Australia. If I may, I will paraphrase the minister's comments when he said that, for the parents of children with a disability, the initial launch at the beginning of the month will make it easier for them to obtain the equipment and supports they need for their children to ensure they can lead rich, fulfilling lives.

As to be expected, DisabilityCare Australia takes a lifelong approach to providing care and support, with an important emphasis on that intensive early intervention. South Australia's three-year launch focus on children is to ensure that we as a society provide every chance to every child by giving young people the support they need to live and thrive. The government anticipates that over the next year more than 1,500 children in metropolitan and regional South Australia will be included in the scheme, with that number being extended to over 5,000 children, aged from birth to 14, by the end of 2015-16.

Ultimately, the full implementation will see a significant reform that will empower and support those many thousands of South Australians who are living with a disability. I believe we should all be proud that South Australia was the first state to sign up to DisabilityCare Australia, as well as being one of the first states to sign up to the full rollout of this reform. I understand the new scheme is based on work undertaken in South Australia. The care is based on an individualised funding model, so families will be allocated a personal care package which will reflect the needs of each individual child and their families. More importantly, families will have the opportunity to self-manage their funding package or ask a service provider to do so.

As a candidate prior to being elected to this place, I well remember attending a forum with our then shadow ministers in the areas of health and disability and listening to many a sad story about the quality of people's lives living with a disability. It has taken us far too long to appreciate not just the needs but, more importantly, the rights of not only those who live with some form of disability but those who care for them. I am proud that it has taken a Labor government at the national level to lead this understanding and be prepared to ensure the workings of the funding partnerships with the states.

Many other countries will look to us for our leadership in this important societal reform. It is fitting that the launch involves children, but the full scheme will cover all eligible people with a disability and see commensurate increases in funding. The South Australian government has increased its funding of disability services, from $123 million in 2002 to $345 million in 2012-13 and, upon full implementation of the scheme in 2018, to $723 million.

I acknowledge not just our former prime minister the Hon. Julia Gillard, who was passionate about this scheme along with federal minister Jenny Macklin, but also the two state ministers who have worked hard to see the fruition of the scheme: the Hon. Ian Hunter in this place, who worked in cooperation with the federal government to lay the foundation of the scheme for South Australia, and of course the current minister, the Hon. Tony Piccolo, from the other place, along with our Premier of South Australia.

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