We are very pleased to see that the NSW Government has listened and has allocated additional funding to grow much needed services and support. This $2 billion over the next five years is on top of the $1.5billion in the first phase of Stronger Together and will see recurrent funding rise appreciably on an annual basis. This is a substantial investment that will significantly improve the wellbeing and opportunities for people with disability. 

NCOSS has also welcomed:

• The commitment to enhance a person centred approach where the person with disability is supported to become the primary decision maker about their own support needs;
• the decision to close all remaining large institutions by June 2018 with funding to allow that to happen;
• the greater accountability and transparency through annual reporting to Parliament.

The Stronger Together package announced today deserves support from all parts of the community and we also welcome the State Opposition’s position of support for the package which ensures bipartisan support on this issue. This will ensure that people with disability can make decisions about their own needs knowing that there is capacity to meet those needs.

NCOSS Summary

Stronger Together 2011-2016 delivers $2.02 billion additional investment in disability supports over 5 years 2011-2016, building on the previous 5 years investment of $1.5 billion in today’s dollars. This totals over $5.5 billion for the Stronger Together period 2006-2016 in new disability spending. This does not include inflation or Commonwealth contributions from the National Disability Agreement, which will be additional. The 2011-2016 allocations will create an additional 47,200 support places for people with disability in NSW.

Some new highlights of this Stronger Together 2011-2016 expenditure include:

• Emphasis on person-centred approaches becoming available from 2011/2013 with designated funding. From 1 July 2014, all people using ADHC disability services will have the opportunity to convert their services to individualised funding.
• Closure of large residential centres or disability institutions, with designated funding for most centres. The target date for closures to be finalised is 2017/18.
• Annual reporting to Parliament on actual vs. planned expenditure as well as progress on the number of places implemented.

Stronger Together 2011-2016 commitments include:

• $63.1m for 4,700 new therapy and behaviour support places
• $95m for 4,500 new flexible respite places
• $248.4m for 2,800 new Community Participation places
• $107.4m for 2,000 new day program places
• $53m for 380 new intensive family support packages, including 180 packages targeting Aboriginal people and families
• $21.1m for 1,000 flexible funding packages for children with autism
• $77.6m for 3,700 early intervention packages for children and young people
• $62.4m for 300 new Attendant Care places
• $724.8m for 1,750 supported accommodation places, including the 300 supported living places and capital expenditure
• $10m for payroll tax exemptions to employers of people with disability
• $255.4m towards the closure of government operated and NGO disability institutions
• $25m training and development initiatives to promote workforce and industry capacity
• $5m for Social Impact Bonds to improve early intervention outcomes
• $57.5m for research, development and data initiatives

NCOSS notes that Stronger Together 2006-2016 will have delivered more new disability support places in the ten years to 2016 than the entire service capacity up to 2005-06 in the areas of:

• Community support
• Respite
• Family support
• Post School Programs Attendant Care

This represents an overall increase of 146% over the entire capacity 2005-06 in disability services.

NCOSS welcomes the commitment of the NSW Government to:

• ensure that Stronger Together complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• implement the National Disability Strategy towards whole-of-government policies for people with disability
• work with the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments on the National Disability Insurance Scheme as a priority
• work with the Commonwealth on the National Health and Hospital Reform Agreement to secure ongoing support for young people in residential aged care.

The first phase of Stronger Together had a comprehensive table indicating how much spending would be allocated to which program, benefitting how many people in each year. NCOSS is pleased to see that the second phase 2011-2016 has also included a table with the same details of targets in spending and disability places.

Government resources

Download: Stronger Together 2011-2016

Related link: Premier's media release