Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise in support of Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2015-2016 and the associated package, which details the expenditure of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for this financial year. The total being sought through these bills is just over $2.2 billion. Like many members on both sides, I am really pleased to have his opportunity to discuss how this wide-ranging legislation will provide a significant boost to my electorate of Robertson.

One element in this package of bills that I do want a focus on tonight, because it has a real impact in my electorate, is the investment in the National Disability Insurance Agency, which will roll out the landmark National Disability Insurance Scheme—more commonly known as the NDIS. The bill delivers just over $108 million for the transition to the full NDIS, as agreed with New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Importantly, for the families and businesses in my electorate of Robertson, the scheme includes the Central Coast, which is among one of the first locations where the NDIS will be delivered in New South Wales. It will be phased in from 1 July this year—just a few months away—and will continue to be transitioned gradually through to the end of June 2017.

I think it is vital to emphasise from the outset that the Turnbull government is fully committed to implementing the NDIS. I am advised that, by the end of the transition to the full scheme in New South Wales, around 115,000 participants are expected to be supported by the scheme. The agreement with New South Wales also provides for another 26,000 people who are not currently receiving services to enter the scheme from July 2018. So in terms of the overall numbers, this gives certainty to more than 140,000 people with disability in New South Wales. When combined with the agreements signed with Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, it gives certainty to the more than 64 per cent of the 460,000 Australians expected to be eligible for the NDIS. Each region will, of course, have a different approach to the transition. The phasing in of clients will take account of local circumstances and promote the best possible outcomes for people with disability in each local area.

Of course, the NDIS is not just about a program; it is not just about KPIs. It is all about helping real people who need this support and backing the organisations that work so hard on the ground to deliver it. The NDIS is a long-term commitment for people who need lifelong support. Many people who will need that lifelong support live in my electorate of Robertson. That is why, today, I would really like to share some examples as to how organisations and people in Robertson will directly benefit from this scheme.

The Turnbull government was recently able to confirm funding to deliver employment certainty for around 200 people with disability on the Central Coast through an investment of $650 million, for Australian Disability Enterprises, over the next three years. Six-point-three million dollars of this funding is for three outstanding organisations in Robertson, including Fairhaven Services. It is a local organisation on the Central Coast that is focussed on ensuring that people who have disability have the opportunity for work. Fairhaven's Chief Executive Officer, Jim Buultjens, told me that it would deliver more varied work options for more than 140 employees, like at the Fare Cravin' cafe at Point Clare that they recently opened and that we attended, and at their factory at West Gosford.

Terama Industries at Gosford and Lasercraft Australia at West Gosford are also receiving funding to deliver jobs for people with disability on the Central Coast. These new contracts, signed by these organisations as part of the funding, are expected to reduce red tape and assist in the transition from current arrangements to the new claiming processes on the NDIS.

Importantly, I understand that people currently receiving support through the New South Wales government specialist disability services will be moving to the NDIS first. Those with unmet needs who newly acquire a disability, or whose circumstances change so that they need critical support, will also be able to enter the NDIS during the transition period. Importantly, also, people receiving support at the moment from a state or the Commonwealth will continue to do so until they transition into the NDIS. This news has the potential to have a significant impact on many families right across the Central Coast, particularly parents who are tireless carers for children with a disability, such as Rachael.

Rachael has lived on the Central Coast for 25 years. She has two children under the age of 10, one of whom was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder around three years ago and is completely non-verbal. In a letter to me, Rachael said that she started with no knowledge whatsoever of what to do—as with many people when receiving a diagnosis such as this. Through some basic Google researching, she found a paediatrician and quickly realised that early intervention was absolutely the key. We know that children with disability should have the same choices, opportunities and experiences as other children and be fully participating in their community to lay the foundation for further development and learning. But, for Rachael, to make this a reality required sacrifices. Rachael's full-time job soon became part-time, as the therapy sessions became more regular. The family was able to access $12,000 in funding from the federal government during this time, through the Helping Children with Autism package, which did assist in some of the costs that kept rising. The appointments with experts on speech, occupational therapists, paediatricians and clinical psychologists kept coming but Rachael's family decided more therapy was needed.

I understand they have since linked up with Jigsaw, whose Occupational Therapy for Children program works within home, school and community environments. But of course more therapy also involves more expense, and Rachael's family said they were finding it difficult given the everyday costs of living including bills and mortgages to pay. Rachael's letter ended to me:

As a mum, trying to do the best for her son, I'm writing you this letter to have the NDIS available sooner. I believe not just for myself, but other families who are missing out on this opportunity.

I am pleased to say, that in just a few months this process starts on the Central Coast which could assist families like Rachael's.

Another local mother I have been speaking with about the challenges and opportunities of the NDIS is Lorraine from Lisarow. Lorraine is a single parent whose 11-year-old son has Dravet syndrome. Until recently, Lorraine was able to claim several days a week in disability respite services provided through the New South Wales state government. I understand that respite provides families and unpaid carers of a person with a disability, like Lorraine, with planned, short-term, time-limited breaks from their usual caring role. Respite services aim to provide a positive experience for both the carer and for the person with disability. However, I am advised that since circumstances for Lorraine changed, because she now works part-time, this support is now more difficult to access. Despite trying to hold down her job, Lorraine told me it is causing added stress at home with taking care of her son, especially on school holidays.

I am determined to work towards establishing the potential for the NDIS, in collaboration with the New South Wales government's current disability funding framework, to see if that may be a way forward for Lorraine to obtain the support she needs. I want to thank Lorraine for sharing with me her very personal story. It has been an absolute pleasure to get to know Lorraine over a number of meetings and occasions, and also her son.

The NDIS has also got the potential to help businesses who help people with a disability, like Gemma, who is a pathologist at Coastal Speech Pathology in Erina. Gemma runs her own private practice and told me that she expects many of her clients will become participants of the NDIS when it begins. The practice also encourages early intervention and assists children to access support through private allied health services. This has allowed local families to develop strategies to help their child participate at preschool, develop communication skills, and to learn to eat and grow. However, like Lorraine, Gemma also raised with me some concerns around the clarity of the rollout process and how it relates to helping patients. Local stroke awareness advocate Brenda Booth, from Woy Woy, has also raised with me on behalf of many stroke survivors on the Central Coast some of their questions regarding the rollout, not just of services but also available information.

The NDIS is about helping a participant to reach their goals, objectives and aspirations and to undertake activities to enable their social and economic participation. But it is also about delivering more choice and control to people with permanent and significant disability, their families and carers. This government is determined to deliver the NDIS on time, within budget and in full to support families that need it the most. But we also need to ensure the people in my electorate of Robertson know how this rollout will directly impact them, and work to communicate this clearly to families and businesses. Part of this would be to push for the National Disability Insurance Agency to be based locally in Gosford. Having a Central Coast based office coordinating the local rollout and engaging with our local community would be a direct boost and a direct benefit to our region as well as to the families and businesses that will be accessing and participating in the scheme. I am working closely with the Minister for Social Services to make this a reality.

In the meantime, I would encourage people in my electorate to contact my office to check if they may be eligible for the NDIS and to find out more information about this important scheme. It is just one way that this Turnbull government is determined to care for the families who need it most.

As a mother of two young children myself, I strongly support the work of the government in this area and commend the bill to the House.

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