Federal Labor Guarantees Disability Funding
Media Statement - 30th October 2007
A Rudd Labor Government will guarantee services for people with disabilities and their carers – and provide certainty.
A Rudd Labor Government would ensure $962 million allocated by the Coalition for accommodation, respite and in home support is brought back into the Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement (CSTDA) and available to the States and Territories on a dollar for dollar matching basis. This approach would result in an injection of $1.9 billion in funding for people with a disability.
Federal Labor would honour the outcomes of the recent funding round for respite services.
In addition, Federal Labor will fast track the renegotiation of the CSTDA. The CSTDA funds core disability services such as accommodation, in home support, respite, day programs, therapy and early intervention.
The Commonwealth and States have been in discussions for 12 months with no sign of an agreement being reached. The current agreement expired in June and has been extended to 31 December 2007.
Negotiations broke down after the Coalition withdrew any offer of growth funding to allow disability services to meet rapidly growing demand.
The Howard Government has further undermined the chances of achieving funding certainty for disability services by tendering for accommodation and respite services outside the current system.
This decision raises the real prospect that a re-elected Howard Government will refuse to continue funding the CSTDA – a move that would force State and Territory Governments to close critical services for people with disabilities.
A Rudd Labor Government would also make system reform the priority of the next CSTDA.
Federal
Labor will work with State and Territory Governments to implement changes with
clear timelines and in partnership with people with disabilities and their
carers. Federal Labor’s reform plan will include:
- 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 Disability Service Standards for all CSTDA funded services
- Improved service planning and strategies to simplify access to services
- Focusing on early intervention, life long planning and increasing the independence and social participation of people with disabilities
Federal Labor will support the growth of business services. Labor will allow people with disabilities moving from business services to open employment to maintain their position in a business service for up to two years. People with disabilities will no longer have to resign their employment in a business service before applying for open employment.
Federal Labor does not support the current competitive tendering processes for the National Disability Advocacy Program based on the Coalition’s narrow criteria. Labor is committed to addressing gaps in service delivery through collaboration with advocacy providers.