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Background Note
Disability support and services in Australia
Online only 16 June 2008
Janet Phillips
Social Policy Section Introduction
Commonwealth, state and territory governments share
the responsibility for providing disability support services in Australia.
Governments also provide a range of mainstream services that indirectly
impact on people with disabilities, for example, various health programs.
This mix of mainstream and disability-specific services at the local and
federal level makes it difficult to get a clear picture of disability
support, funding and services across the country.
This Background Note provides an overview of government provided disability
support and services in Australia. It includes background on Commonwealth,
state and territory responsibilities, legislation and funding and provides
links to some key national and international organisations in the disability
area. It reviews and updates the contents of Disability support
and services in Australia.[1]
‘Disability’ is not easily defined, but it is generally accepted to be
a condition that limits an individual’s ability to carry out day to day
activities. The level of severity of a disability may vary from mild (for
example, the need to wear glasses) to severe (for example, some forms
of brain injury).
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services
2008 lists several of the commonly accepted definitions of disability
from sources that include the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Commonwealth State Territory Disability
Agreement (CSTDA):
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability
and Health defines disability as being an experience for the person
involved that may include the impairment of their body structure and
function, limitation of their activity and restriction of their participation
in life areas. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability
and Health also recognises the role of physical and social environmental
factors in affecting disability (WHO 2001).
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Survey of
Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) was conducted in 1981, 1988, 1993,
1998 and 2003, and was based on the International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health and its predecessor. The 2003 survey
defined a disability as a limitation, restriction or impairment that
has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and restricts
everyday activities. Self care, mobility and communication are defined
as core activities. The ABS defines levels of core activity limitation
as follows:
– mild — where a person does not need assistance
and has no difficulty with self care, mobility and/or communication,
but uses aids or equipment
– moderate — where a person does not need assistance,
but has difficulty with self care, mobility and/or communication
– severe — where a person sometimes needs assistance
with self care, mobility and/or communication tasks; has difficulty
understanding or being understood by family or friends; or can communicate
more easily using sign language or other non-spoken forms of communication
– profound — where a person is unable, or always
needs assistance, to perform self care, mobility and/or communication
tasks.
The CSTDA (2003, p. 9) defines ‘people with disabilities’
as those whose disability manifests itself before the age of 65 years
and for which they require significant ongoing and/or long term episodic
support. For these people, the disability will be attributable to an intellectual,
psychiatric, sensory, physical or neurological impairment or acquired
brain injury (or some combination of these) which is likely to be permanent
and results in substantially reduced capacity in at least one of the following:
– self-care/management
– mobility
– communication
Source: ABS (2004c); WHO (2001); CSTDA (2003).
It is worth noting that the Commonwealth government uses varying definitions
of disability or impairment for different purposes. In relation to the
disability related payments provided by the Commonwealth government, the
Commonwealth has developed specific definitions rather than relying on
the broader, internationally accepted definitions of disability, handicap
or impairment. For example, individuals (over the age of 16) are considered
eligible for the Commonwealth Disability Support Pension if they have
an illness, injury or disability that stops the individual from being
able to work or be retrained for work of at least 15 hours per week at
full-award wages within the next two years. The illness, injury or disability
must also attract an impairment rating of at least 20 points on the impairment
tables contained in the Social Security Law. To be eligible for the Carer
Payment (Adult) the person being cared for must be aged 16 or over with
a 'severe disability or medical condition' as assessed by a health professional.
Every five years, the ABS Survey
of Disability, Ageing and Carers analyses the prevalence of disability
in Australia.
The most recent survey, conducted in 2003, found that one in five people
in Australia (3.9 million or 20 per cent) had a reported disability. This
rate was much the same for males (19.8 per cent) and females (20.1 per
cent). The survey found that there was little change in the disability
rate between 1998 (20.1 per cent) and 2003 (20 per cent). The rate of
profound disability also showed little change between 1998 (6.4 per cent)
and 2003 (6.3 per cent).
The findings included:
- One in five people in Australia, or 20 per cent, had a reported disability
in 2003. A further 4.1 million, or 21 per cent, had a long-term health
condition that did not restrict their everyday activities.
- Of those with a reported disability, 86 per cent (3.4 million) had
a specific limitation or restriction–that is, were limited in the core
activities of self care, mobility or communication, or restricted in
schooling or employment. Most people with a disability (76 per cent)
were limited in one or more of these core activities.
- The labour force participation rate of persons with a disability was
53 per cent and the unemployment rate was 8.6 per cent. Corresponding
rates for those without a disability were 81 per cent and 5.0 per cent.
- The median gross personal income per week of persons aged 15–64 years
with a reported disability living in households was $255, compared to
$501 for those without a disability. Median gross personal income per
week decreased with increasing severity of disability. It was lowest
($200 per week) for those with a profound core-activity limitation.
The Commonwealth first became directly involved with providing support
for people with disabilities with the introduction of the Invalid Pension
in 1908. The current version of this benefit is the Disability
Support Pension.
During the 1940s the number of people with disabilities increased rapidly
essentially due to injuries suffered during the Second World War. In response
to this, the Commonwealth established the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service
(CRS) and expanded the number of sheltered workshops and accommodation
services run by volunteer organisations. Through the 1960s and 1970s the
Commonwealth increasingly provided funding to help these organisations
provide accommodation, employment and other support services.
In the 1980s, there was a general move by service providers
away from institutional service provision towards more community orientated
service provision. The introduction of the first International
Year of Disabled Persons in 1981 further enhanced an increasing awareness
in the community of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities.
One of the main aims of the International Year was to remove the barriers
preventing disabled people from achieving equality with able bodied people.
Following the International Year of Disabled Persons a range of initiatives
was introduced that had implications for the provision of support and
services for people with disabilities. The most important of these were:
- The introduction of the Disability
Services Act 1986 which provided a comprehensive framework
for the funding and provision of disability support services.
- The 1991 Disability Reform Package which reformed Commonwealth income
support payments for people with disabilities with a view to encouraging
integration into the workforce.
- The signing of the first Commonwealth State Disability Agreement (CSDA)
in 1991 which aimed to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the
governments. The Commonwealth was given responsibility for income support
and employment services and the States and Territories were given responsibility
for accommodation and other support services. A major aim of the CSDA
was to reduce the amount of duplication and administrative complexity
that existed in the funding and service arrangements for disabled people.
Since then, there have been two agreements–1998 and 2002–with the fourth
due in 2008.[2]
- The Disability
Discrimination Act 1992 which aims to eliminate discrimination
against people with disabilities; ensure equality before the law and
promote acceptance within the community of the fundamental rights of
people with disabilities.
- The introduction of the National
Mental Health Strategy in 1992 which provided:
‘...a framework for national reform from an institutionally
based mental health system to one that is consumer focused with an
emphasis on supporting individuals in their community. The Strategy
was reaffirmed in 1998 with the Second National Mental Health
Plan and again in 2003 with the endorsement of the National
Mental Health Plan 2003-2008.’ [3]
- The introduction of the 1994 Commonwealth
Disability Strategy (CDS) to assist Australian Government agencies
meet their obligations under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination
Act 1992–see below for more detail.
For more information on disability policy and developments
from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s see Commonwealth Disability
Policy 1983–1995.[4]
Commonwealth State Territory Disability
Agreement (CSTDA)
The Commonwealth
State Territory Disability Agreement (CSTDA) provides the national
framework for the delivery, funding and development of specialist disability
services for people with disabilities. It is the main vehicle in Australia
providing disability services to those in need. The Commonwealth’s main
areas of responsibility in this area include:
- most disability related payments and allowances
- the provision of employment services for people with disabilities
and
- some generic services and support (such as rehabilitation and various
health programs).
The states and territories are responsible for most other
areas of support including:
- accommodation
- community access services
- respite care and
- disability related support in schools.
Some areas are shared between the Commonwealth and the states
such as health funding and the Home and Community Care Program (HACC).
There have been three agreements so far–1991,
1998 and 2002–with the fourth due in 2008. The current (third) CSTDA agreement
came into force in mid 2003 and was due to expire in June 2007. However,
the Commonwealth, state and territory governments agreed to an extension
to 31 December 2007 to enable negotiations for a fourth CSTDA to be finalised.
In January 2008, the new Minister, Jenny Macklin, announced that the agreement
would be extended to 30 June 2008 to allow time for renegotiations with
the new government:
The Australian Government will provide over $315 million,
to be paid fortnightly in advance, to State and Territory Governments
to continue services for people with disability while allowing time
for the effective renegotiation of a new disability agreement.[5]
In February 2008, the federal and state and
territory disability ministers met in Melbourne for preliminary discussions
and agreed to meet again in March to renew negotiations.[6] See the Communiqué
for outcomes of the February discussions.
For more background on the CSTDA, including the history
of previous agreements, see the 2007 Senate Community Affairs Committee
report, the Funding
and operation of the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement.
Details on funding, statistics on disability support and jurisdictional
responsibilities are provided each year by the Productivity Commission
in the disability
section of the Report
on Government Services.[7]
Data from the Services
for people with a disability section of previous reports shows that
in terms of the total expenditure on disability services by the Commonwealth
and states and territories, there has been a steady rise in funding in
real terms over recent years. The latest Report
on Government Services, (2008), shows that in 2006–07, total
government expenditure on CSTDA funded services was $4.3 billion. This
equates to percentage increases in total real expenditure on services
by the Commonwealth and the states and territories of 6.7 per cent on
the 2005–06 expenditure of $4.1 billion.
In 1994, the Commonwealth
Disability Strategy (CDS) was introduced to assist Commonwealth Government
agencies meet their obligations under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination
Act 1992. The CDS was intended to encourage Australian Government
departments to ensure equal access for people with disabilities in the
development and delivery of policy, programs and services.
An independent evaluation of the CDS, Evaluation
of the Commonwealth Disability Strategy, (the Erubus report), was
conducted in 2005–06.[8]
The evaluation recommended the continuation of the CDS, but identified
a need to further develop the strategy to ensure its continued effectiveness.
In response to the Erubus report, the Howard government
embarked on a review of the CDS:
...the department has been undertaking a series of
discussions on the way forward with the CDS, consistent with the themes
in the evaluation. We have had discussions with the federation of disability
organisations. Minister Scullion, through Minister Brough, has asked
for some advice from the National Disability and Carers Advisory Council
on ways in which to give effect to some of the recommendations in the
Erebus report. Some of the key themes in the report were that the reporting
required under the current CDS is largely process and compliance driven,
rather than outcome based. We have been negotiating with the sector
as well as with the Australian Public Service Commission on ways in
which we can make that reporting more meaningful. We have also been
talking to the sector about ways in which the sector may be involved
more in an educative role with Commonwealth agencies around how best
they can give effect to their responsibilities under the CDS. That information
is feeding into advice to the minister, but a decision on the formal
way forward from government has not been taken at this stage.[9]
In the ALP Disability
and Carers 2007 election policy document, Mr Rudd announced that if
elected, there would be a new National
Disability Strategy negotiated with the states and territories ‘to
tackle the complex needs of people with disabilities and their carers’.
This was reinforced in the Communiqué
from the federal and state and territory disability ministers meeting
in Melbourne on 1 February 2008, where the Minister, the Hon. Jenny Macklin,
MP, stated that:
...the development of the Australian
Government's National Disability Strategy...will provide leadership
in disability policy and draw on the experience of States and Territories.
The National Disability Strategy is an historic opportunity for the
Commonwealth, States and Territories to work together with the community
to ensure the needs of people with disabilities and their families are
addressed through coordinated and comprehensive policy planning - across
all Government Departments and services.
According to the National
Disability Strategy website:
The NDS will provide an overarching policy statement
and action framework, setting out the national view, directions and
priorities for the development of legislation and policy. This will
include action plans for service delivery, policy development, quality
assurance and a research agenda that is informed by state, territory
and international experience.
The NDS will include the development of the Harmonisation of Accessible
Parking Schemes initiative. This will provide an integrated national
approach to support greater participation of drivers with disability
and eligible carers in the community through improved access to parking
options.
At this point it is not clear how the NDS will differ from the previous
strategy. However, the CDS website currently
indicates that:
The NDS will cover already existing approaches by
the Commonwealth, states and territories, acknowledging and supporting
the priorities of existing strategies that address disability issues.
The CDS is an example of an existing strategy that
will perform a significant role as an integral element within the new
NDS that will serve to focus the attention of Commonwealth Government
agencies on meeting their obligations under the Disability Discrimination
Act 1992.
In the 1 February 2008 Communiqué,
the Minister outlined other developments planned in the area of disability:
The National Disability Strategy and the CSTDA 4
are also vehicles through which Ministers can work together on the
eight key priority areas identified by Labor at the election:
*Better measurement of current and future need
for disability services;
*Moving toward national population benchmarks
for key disability service types;
*Making older carers a priority for all disability
services under the CSTDA;
*Quality improvement systems based on the National
Disability Service Standards for all Agreement services;
*Improved service planning and strategies to simplify
access to services under the CSTDA;
*Focusing on early intervention, lifelong planning
and increasing the independence and social participation of people
with a disability;
*Improved workforce capacities, and;
*Access to services by Indigenous people with
disabilities.
The Commonwealth provides a range of assistance measures for both the
disabled and their carers. The main forms of support provided by the Commonwealth
include:
- Income support: for example, the Disability
Support Pension, Carer
Payment, Sickness
Allowance and Wife
Pension. See the FAHCSIA disability
payments website for more detail on some of these payments.
- Income supplement: for example, the Carer Allowance (adult
and child)
and Mobility
Allowance.
- Employment support: funding to organisations to provide employment
services as well as the direct provision of employment and training
programs. See FAHCSIA’s employment
for people with a disability page and Centrelink’s disability
employment services page. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities
Commission (HREOC) website includes a page on disability employment
issues.
- Rehabilitation: provision of services and support through
the Commonwealth
Rehabilitation Service (CRS). The CRS assists people with an injury
or disability via work related rehabilitation programs under the Disability
Services Act 1986. CRS operates within the Department of Human
Services and is the largest provider of Government funded vocational
rehabilitation services.
- Accommodation: provision of funding to the states and territories
for accommodation support, respite, independent living and recreation
services.
- HACC: joint funding with the States for the Home
and Community Care Program (HACC).
- Disability aids: funding to the states and territories for
administering aids and appliances schemes.
- Advocacy and information services: funding of organisations
to provide advocacy, information and print disability services.
- Continence services: funding of organisations under
the Continence
Aids Assistance Scheme.
- Industry: funding to sponsor industry projects.
- Research and development: funding for research and development
projects.
- Veterans: providing services for Veterans (a major source
of income support for veterans is the Veteran's Disability Pension).
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS): the provision of pharmaceutical
and other medical benefits.
The shift in emphasis in recent years from institutional care towards
‘ageing at home’ and community care has seen the role of carers become
even more important in our community. It is estimated that there are over
2.5 million carers supporting people with disabilities (or the elderly)
in Australia, of which about 474 600 are primary carers (an individual
providing the primary care for the person requiring support).[10]
The Commonwealth provides support
for carers through the CSTDA by contributing additional funding to help
the states and territories pay for their responsibilities, including responsibilities
for respite care. Outside of the CSTDA, the Commonwealth provides other
support for carers and for respite care. For example, apart from the two
main carer income support or income supplement payments (Carer
Payment and Carer
Allowance), the Commonwealth also funds Commonwealth
Carer Resource Centres and Commonwealth
Carer Respite Centres.
For more detail on carer allowances,
payments and respite services see the Government seniors.gov.au web site on Carer
support.
The Report on
Government Services 2008, disability
attachment, shows expenditure on respite services by Commonwealth,
state and territory.
For a list of the carers associations in each state and territory see
the Carers
Australia contact page.
The main Commonwealth programs that provide in home support for carers
are the Home
and Community Care (HACC) program, the Veterans'
Home Care (VHC) program, Community
Aged Care Packages (CACPs), the Extended
Aged Care at Home (EACH) program, and support through residential
aged care services (nursing homes and hostels).
The Home and Community Care Program (HACC) commenced in 1985 and is a
joint Commonwealth/State program designed to provide services which support
people living at home who are at risk of inappropriate admission to institutional
care. It is administered in accordance with agreements signed between
the Commonwealth and all states and territories. The aims of the program
are to provide support services for the frail aged, people with a disability
and their carers; to help these people to be more independent at home
and in the community and to ensure that there is flexible service provision
that responds to the needs of the user.
The types of services provided under HACC include home help, personal
care, home nursing, home respite, centre day care, home meals, transport
and home maintenance and modification. Changing government policies over
the past ten years or so has seen a shift way from the more intensive
care programs related to the residential aged care sector (notably nursing
homes) towards home based care including HACC and Community Aged Care
Packages.
Community Aged Care Packages (CACPs) and Extended Aged Care at Home (EACH)
packages provide an alternative to residential aged care and allow the
elderly to stay in their home or similar environment. Both these packages
are solely funded by the Commonwealth. CACPs provide support and care
for people assessed as being in need of low level (hostel) type care and
the EACH packages are designed for those assessed as requiring high level
(nursing home) care.
All three of the main community options listed above do allow some ‘respite’
for carers and enable the provision of various health and home support
to be brought into the disabled person’s home.
The 2007 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report,
Current and Future
Demand for Specialist Disability Services, found that in 2005 there
were 23 800 people aged 0 to 64 in Australia with unmet or under
met need for accommodation and respite services. The report also projects
that by 2010 there will be 752 000 people with a profound disability,
an increase of 4.8 per cent or 34 600 from the estimated figure in
2006.
The 2007 Taskforce on Care Costs report, The
hidden face of care: combining work and caring responsibilities for the
aged and people with a disability, found that:
...although public rhetoric acknowledges the need
to help carers of the aged and people with a disability to balance their
work and caring responsibilities, in reality tangible support is insufficient
and ineffective. This is evident in relation to public policy e.g. legislation,
financial support and service provision.[11]
There is general acceptance that there is
a significant problem of unmet need with respect to the provision of support
and assistance for people with disabilities. The 1998 ABS Survey
of Disability, Ageing and Carers found 24 000 people with a profound
or severe disability and more than 41 000 primary carers who received
no assistance at all.
The most recent survey, the 2003 ABS Survey
of Disability, Ageing and Carers, had similar findings. It found 28 000
people with a profound or severe disability receiving no assistance at
all, and:
Of those with a core-activity limitation, the more
severe the limitation, the higher the proportion with an unmet need
for help. Of those with a profound limitation 50 per cent reported that
their needs were only partly met or not met at all. This contrasts with
41 per cent for those with a severe limitation, 26 per cent for those
with a moderate limitation and 16 per cent for those with a mild limitation
who reported that their needs were partly met or not met at all.[12]
There have been several reports analysing unmet need in disability services
in recent years:
- Senate Community Affairs Committee, Funding
and operation of the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement,
chapter 4, February 2007. A major recommendation contained in the report
is that the Commonwealth and state and territory governments should
‘jointly commit to substantial funding to address identified unmet need
in specialist disability service’.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Current and future
demand for specialist disability services, 2007. This publication
includes unmet demand data by jursidiction, population estimates, and
projections of future demand.
- In 2002, AIHW completed a major study into the unmet need issue,
Unmet Need
for Disability Services. It found that despite some additional funding
being added via the CSTDA at the time (for example, the Commonwealth
and the states allocated approximately $500 million over the 2000–02
period for unmet need) in 2001, there were over 12 000 people still
in need of accommodation and respite services and over 5000 people needing
employment support.
- For more historical background
on the unmet need issue see Unmet need
in disability services: shortfall or systemic failure.[13]
The main Commonwealth legislation covering the rights of
people with a disability is the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992 and the main Commonwealth body that is
charged with protecting the rights of disabled people and advocating on
their behalf is the Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). For more background on HREOC
and disability rights and advocacy see the HREOC disability rights
page. The Attorney-General’s Department provides legal and policy
information on matters arising under the Disability Discrimination
Act 1992 (DDA).
The Disability Services
Act 1986 outlines arrangements for the provision of services for
people with disability and aims ‘to assist persons with disabilities to
receive services necessary to enable them to work towards full participation
as members of the community’.
HREOC Disability
standards and guidelines website outlines standards that are associated
specifically with the Disability Discrimination Act (these are
not necessarily the same as the National Disability Standards):
Under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), the
Attorney-General may make Disability Standards to specify rights and
responsibilities about equal access and opportunity for people with
a disability, in more detail and with more certainty than the DDA itself
provides. The Commission has a function of advising the Attorney on
making such standards. Standards can be made in the areas of employment,
education, public transport services, access to premises, accommodation
and the administration of Commonwealth laws and programs...
The National
Disability Service Standards are made under the Disability Services
Act 1986 and apply to all service types funded through the CSTDA.
These standards complement the provision of services for people with disability
under the Commonwealth Disability Services Act 1986 and the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992, along with related Australian legislation
such as laws relating to discrimination, guardianship provisions, equal
employment opportunity, occupational health and safety, and freedom of
information. Under the CSTDA, the core quality standards applicable
to all services receiving funding under this agreement are the National
Standards.
Over the years there has been a great deal of discussion and negotiation
between stakeholders over the development of various disability standards.
As a result, many stakeholders have expressed concerns at the delays,
for example, see Disability
standards: the challenge of achieving compliance with the Disability Discrimination
Act,.[14]
For progress on disability standards in the areas of employment, education,
public transport services and access to premises see the HREOC Disability
standards and guidelines website.
- CSTDA: The CSTDA has been extended to 31 December 2008 to
allow time for renegotiations with the Rudd government.[15]
- National Disability Strategy: There will be a new National
Disability Strategy in the place of the previous Commonwealth Disability
Strategy that was under review by the Coalition government.
- Disability transport standards: The Review of Disability Standards for
Accessible Public Transport draft report was released by the Minister
on 8 January 2008.[16]
- UN Convention: The Government has proposed that Australia
ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and has invited NGOs and industry representatives
to participate in consultations on Australia’s commitment to the convention.
[17]
- Carer payment: The Minister has released a report by the Carer
Payment (child) Review Taskforce, which examines the effectiveness of
support to carers of children with a severe disability or medical condition.[18] Note: the 2008–09 Budget provides
for a new Carer Payment assessment process that will result in a considerable
relaxation of the eligibility criteria. The new criteria will see greatly
expanded access to Carer Payment for those caring for children.[19]
- National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy:
The Rudd Government announced a new strategy in February 2008 to assist
people with a disability find and retain employment.[20]
- Disability employment: The Department has invited eligible
organisations to submit their expressions of interest to establish new
disability supported employment business services in areas where there
is demonstrated high demand. There are 250 supported employment places
available across Australia.
- Autism strategy: On 3 October 2007, the then Prime Minister,
announced details of the Australian Government's autism package, Helping
children with autism, delivering $190.7 million in new funding over
five years. A number of initiatives will be implemented nationally by
the Departments of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous
Affairs (FaHCSIA), Health and Ageing (DoHA), and Education, Employment
and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). FaHCSIA will oversee the implementation
of the following initiatives:
- Education and support for families and carers of children aged
0 to 6 with autism spectrum disorders and
- Increased access to early intervention programs for children
aged 0 to 6 with autism spectrum disorders.
- Disability investment group: The Australian Government has
established a Disability
Investment Group to explore funding ideas from the private sector
to help people with disabilities.
- Unmet need: this has been an ongoing issue over the years.
Probably the best and most up to date analysis of unmet need in disability
services can be found in the Funding
and operation of the Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement
(Senate Community Affairs Committee report, chapter 4, February 2007).
- Disability standards: For background on some of the issues
see the HREOC Disability
standards website. The Review
of Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport draft report
was released by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional
Development and Local Government, the Hon. Anthony Albanese, on 8 January
2008.
- Data: The Commonwealth may insist in future on better data
reporting from the states and territories. The FACSIA
CSTDA Annual Reports were an attempt in the past to achieve
this. Australian, State and Territory Governments are required to collect
program, service and consumer data known as the National Minimum Data
set as part of the Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement
(CSTDA). See the Disability
Services Census page.
- Accommodation: this is an ongoing issue and responsibilities
and funding are under review by the Commonwealth, states and territories.
In its Disability
and Carers 2007 election policy, the ALP promised to provide $962
million in funding for disability services, currently outside the CSTDA,
back into the agreement on a dollar for dollar matching basis with the
states and territories as part of the renegotiated CSTDA agreement In
a statement on the Department’s website in February 2008, the Minister,
the Hon. Jenny Macklin, indicated that this funding was related to accommodation
services:
‘A renegotiated agreement is a priority for our
government and will bring over $900 million of Commonwealth funding
allocated for accommodation, respite and in-home support back into
the CSTDA.’ [21]
The 2008–09 Budget provides further confirmation that this redirection
of funds over four years is referring to funding previously allocated
for the provision of accommodation support services through the Commonwealth’s
Disability
Assistance Package.[22]
- Young people in nursing homes: states and territories have
been attempting to create more appropriate housing options for young
people with a disability in nursing homes in recent years (currently
about 6000 people). In February 2006, COAG announced
that the Australian government and states and territories had agreed
to provide joint funding of up to $244 million for a five year program
managed by the states and territories. The funding provided age appropriate
care for younger people with disabilities currently in residential aged
care and aims to reduce the overall numbers of people in such facilities.
In February 2007, the then Minister, the Hon. M. Brough, announced that
‘all States and Territories have now signed bilateral agreements with
the Australian Government to help young people with a disability move
out of residential aged care facilities.’[23] The national industry association,
National Disability Services,
met with Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services,
the Hon. Bill Shorten, on 20 March 2008 to discuss the progress of this
initiative. For more detail see the Young
People in Nursing Homes Alliance website and the HREOC disability
accommodation page.
- Other issues: see the HREOC disability issues
web page
Janet Phillips, Peter Yeend and Dale Daniels
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