Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Disability Assistance) Bill 2007 introduces a new payment, child disability assistance, into social security law. It is an annual tax-free payment of generally $1,000 to recipients of carer allowance for those who care for children under 16 years of age. It is to be funded over the next four years. The first payment will be made in October this year and over the four years it is estimated that the cost will amount to over $560 million. Labor certainly supports this much needed additional payment, which will certainly help those caring for children who have a disability.

In June 2006 the carer allowance was paid to 106,622 carers who were caring for over 125,000 children with disabilities. I think everybody in this House would know that carers of children with a disability are certainly under considerable financial pressure in their efforts to care for their children and to pay for essential supports. Medical expenses can greatly exceed those faced by the vast majority of children, whether it is for early intervention therapies, respite care, appropriate educational placements or physical aids, which can be very expensive. All of these things can place families in situations where the provision for their child is beyond their resources.

Children with disabilities also have very, very diverse needs that can change over time. Young children with a disability can benefit from very early intervention and therapy to maximise their early childhood development and their learning. I am sure we are all in contact with families who would benefit from a break and they need the respite care to give them that break.

As children develop they outgrow aids and equipment, which then need replacing. We can all think of home or vehicle modifications, such as a hoist in the home or aids to help travel in the family car. Many families with a child or children with a disability face these additional expenses as the children grow up.

So this child disability assistance payment will help carers with the purchase of all of these different types of assistance. We understand that it really is going to be able to help families, who can then decide themselves about how best to spend this money. We certainly, as I said, welcome this $1,000 payment because we know that it will help carers who are under considerable financial stress.

We are also aware that this payment forms part of a broader disability support package called the disability assistance package. This was announced in June and we understand that a considerable amount—almost $1 billion of that—will be provided to help older carers and their families. The government has said that it will translate into around 1,750 new supported accommodation places, 800 new respite places to be available by 2012 and additional in-home support and respite to assist older carers continue in their caring role.

At a cost of over $700 million, carers of around 130,000 children will get the $1,000 payment that we are debating here today. We know how helpful that will be. There is over $20 million to enable respite, early intervention and other services for children in their local areas. Most importantly, as part of this package, there is also additional investment in employment services because many people with disabilities can and are able to work and want to be able to work, and if they are provided with assistance to do so then they can have very productive lives in the workforce. So there is $21 million for an extra 500 supported employment places in various business services, $30-odd million to continue targeted support to people with a disability who cannot benefit from supported employment, over $20 million in viability support to help those business services that are in temporary crisis and over $26 million to provide increased funding for other disability services.

I am sure the parliament is aware that disability services have, for some period of time now, been funded through the Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement—otherwise known as the CSTDA. This is still being renegotiated. This disability assistance package which was announced in June did include direct Commonwealth funding of disability services and all the other areas that I have just mentioned. The states and territories have requested detail about how the supported accommodation will be provided and who will provide ongoing funding. As I understand it, this information was promised at the end of July but is yet to be received by the states and territories.

Just under half of the disability assistance package was in the form of income support payments to families caring for a child under 16. Of course, we do welcome this additional funding for people with disabilities and the extra money for their carers, but we are concerned that there is still no agreement on the fourth Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement.

Up until Minister Brough announced the additional funding, he had said that he would match the states and territories fifty-fifty for unmet need for services. But then on 4 July, without any notice, the minister withdrew this offer and stated, ‘The offer is no longer available in light of the disability package announced the week prior.’

Families have to juggle both access and eligibility for a range of services including disability programs provided by the states and territories, through the Home and Community Care Program, the education system and Centrelink. What we are concerned about is that the way in which the government has gone about announcing this new disability assistance package may add to further complexity in what is, particularly for parents and carers, an already very, very complex environment.

That said, we do welcome the additional funding but we would like to see the minister continue to negotiate with the states and territories to get an agreed Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement. We think that that will make it less complex for those carrying out their caring responsibilities and those who are delivering services to people with a disability. What we do not want is for people with disabilities or for their carers to be caught up in the blame game that we hear so often unfortunately from the Prime Minister and from Minister Brough.

We think that a renegotiated agreement will in fact not only make it easier for carers and for people with disabilities to find their way around a complex system but also make sure that both the Commonwealth and the states and territories meet the needs of those with a disability and meet the needs of carers as well. We on this side of the House initiated the first Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement back in 1991. It is the case that at that time this agreement resulted in dramatically improved services for people with disabilities and for their families. So Labor continues our commitment to further improve services for people with disabilities. This was one of the reasons that we initiated the recent Senate inquiry into the funding and operation of the Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement which reported in February this year. Evidence to that inquiry from people right around the country—people with disabilities and their carers—was certainly consistent. What they constantly drew the attention of the Senate to were the problems with access to services, the inadequacy of support and the reliability and predictability of services. All of these issues were raised time and again, both in the hearings to the Senate inquiry and through various submissions. Unfortunately, many people expressed their frustration and anger when all they saw was governments at the state and Commonwealth level blaming each other when service needs remain unmet.

What we need in this area of disability policy is a whole-of-government response. That means the Commonwealth, the states and the territories working together to get a new Commonwealth State/Territory Disability Agreement to deliver the services and the support that people with a disability and their carers really need and deserve. That is what they need now. People also need to know that it will be delivered in a less complex way and over the longer term. That said, we are very pleased to support the legislation, because we know how needed the additional funding is, particularly for carers of children with a disability.

Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am also very pleased to be able to be here to support the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Disability Assistance) Bill 2007. Families caring for children with a disability do so caringly and ungrudgingly. However, they often face a disproportionate financial burden due to the many extra costs for healthcare and support for their children. As minister for women, I also learned that the responsibility for caring for children with a disability disproportionately falls on women.

Research into the cost of caring undertaken in a 2006 survey suggests that one-third of people providing primary care are living in households with incomes that place them in the poorest fifth of households in Australia. Who cares? The cost of caring in Australia 2002-2005, the AMP-NATSEM income and wealth report also found that carers are on average $5,600 worse off each year than people with no care responsibilities. That is a big additional burden to carry. Carers also pay a high price in terms of restricted job opportunities and reduced income. The labour force participation rate for primary carers, for example, is only 39 per cent, and it is obvious why this is so.

There are a number of additional challenges that parents undertake in the care of a child or children with a disability. These can range from aids such as wheelchairs and hoists to child care and special education needs. Often, equipment to support children with a disability needs to be changed frequently, either due to the growth of a child or because the equipment has worn out. Parents with a child or children with a disability are often on duty 24 hours a day, and this payment could assist with respite care to give families a well-earned break from their caring role. I often meet parents during my regular rounds in the community of Pearce, and I get to hear of the problems firsthand. For example, a woman who came to meet me recently had two children with autism, while another woman had two children with dyspraxia. Early intervention would benefit these children as this condition affects the child’s ability to speak—and speech therapy is not optional; it is absolutely essential.

It is not unusual to find families managing two children with a disability. I am therefore pleased to support this bill today which introduces a new payment—child disability assistance—into social security law. Child disability assistance will be available to carers of disabled children under the age of 16, in respect of whom the carer receives carer allowance for the relevant period. A total of $721.2 million over five years will be provided by the government, with an annual payment of $1,000 to each family to assist them with the purchase of equipment and necessary support for their child. As I said, this could be used to help purchase a wheelchair, install a hoist, replace equipment, modify the home, modify the family car or provide respite care or therapy. The first payment of child disability assistance will be made next month, October 2007, and payments in future years will be made in July. The payment will not be subject to income tax, nor will it count as income for social security or family assistance purposes.

There are approximately 130,000 children with a disability. Most of these children need lifelong support, and this additional financial support will be very welcome by the approximately 106,000 families who qualify for the carer allowance caring for these children today. As at 1 July 2006, there were 2,529 carer allowance customers in the electorate of Pearce. These included current and suspended customers and those with health care cards. I know these parents will welcome the additional support they are entitled to under this amended legislation.

We have improved the assistance to families as a government for those families caring for children with a disability since the introduction of the handicap child’s allowance in 1974. This was replaced with the carers allowance in cases where a child has a functional impairment. A carer can automatically receive the carers allowance in the case of certain disabilities, but other children have to be assessed to determine eligibility for their carer. Medical expenses, the tax rebate, the childcare Inclusion and Professional Support Program and, in certain cases, a carer adjustment payment all assist families to care for children with a disability. The childcare Inclusion and Professional Support Program help families to arrange affordable childcare services for children that have high support needs. This mostly assists families with children with, as I said, high support needs. The additional funding made available means that 3,000 extra children can benefit from the inclusion support subsidy.

The carer adjustment payment is an interim payment of $10,000 to help families with a child aged from birth to six years old who has been diagnosed with a serious disability or a severe illness. It is available for a two-year period, allowing an initial adjustment period until a review of eligibility for a carer payment can be determined. Support for families who are caring for children with a disability is typical of those important safety nets that underpin our system of government, which encourages those who can care for their families to do so but recognises the particular challenges and at times the grave hardship for many families undertaking those caring roles.

I fully support this amendment to legislation and I ask that the minister continues to regularly review the legislation with a view to ensuring that parents are always adequately supported in this role. The government funding of $721.2 million over five years to provide families already receiving carer allowance and an additional $1,000 annually, as I said, will be tax free, which I am sure will be welcome by all families.

The research, interestingly enough, taken into the cost of caring undertaken in 2006 suggests that one-third of people providing primary care for the elderly and disabled, including disabled children, live in households whose income places them in the poorest fifth of households in Australia. This has always been of great concern to me because I do see perhaps the areas of greatest hardship in our communities in those families where people are caring for a family member with a disability, whether it be children, the elderly, the chronically ill or adults. We certainly know that there are a large number of ageing parents still caring for their children in their fifties. I have seen some very sad cases. So I think it is important that we are constantly reviewing how we are managing this group of people in our community to ensure that they are always fully supported in their role of caring. With the assistance of the carers allowance and the proposed child disability assistance, a great deal of pressure will certainly be taken off parents, and hopefully it will also allow them to improve their care for the children or child with a disability. I fully support these measures.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Disability Assistance) Bill 2007. I support much of what was said by the member for Pearce and others on this bill today. I have some issues with the bill. At some point in the course of my contribution, I would like to talk about the issue of the way in which the carer adjustment payment is applied—that is, the $10,000 one-off payment that is made to families where they have children under the age of six with a disability. There is an issue that I would like to go to with respect to that particular matter.

Prior to doing that, I firstly say that we support the contribution that has been proposed to be paid to carers who have children with a disability. It is the view of Labor and, of course, the government that young children with disabilities can benefit from early intervention and therapy to maximise their early childhood development and learning. Indeed, we would say that some families and children would benefit from a break such as respite care. As they develop, older children outgrow aids and equipment, which will need to be replaced. Home or vehicle modifications, such as a hoist in the home or help to travel in the family car, are often necessary and, of course, very expensive. To that extent we would support the tax-free payment of $1,000 to carers.

As I understand it, the government chose to make the payment. I assume that the fact that it is a one-off payment of $1,000 per year allows for outlays on potentially expensive equipment required. I guess the government has to consider whether, in fact, it has taken the right approach, but there is a concern that one-off payments are not used as well as a payment made on a monthly or fortnightly basis. Indeed, some of the benefits from the Commonwealth to people in the community are paid in instalments to ensure that such payments are not used for other purposes. So there is a question, in terms of the application of this policy, as to whether the $1,000 payment is the best approach. There is a debate to be had about the merits of paying a lump sum or, indeed, instalments, but I do see the argument that it is more likely that families in receipt of $1,000 would use that as a contribution towards an expensive service or an expensive piece of equipment. To that extent, I think that part of the weakness in proposing a one-off payment per year is mitigated.

As I understand it, the package is $1.8 billion, of which $962 million would be provided to help older carers and their families. The federal government stated that this would translate into around 1,750 new supported accommodation places, 800 new respite places to be available by 2012 and additional in-home support and respite to assist older carers continue their caring role. At a total cost of $721.2 million, carers of around 130,000 children with disability under the age of 16 will receive $1,000 each year, with the first payment to be made next month, to assist with the purchase of necessary support such as wheelchairs, communication aids, therapy and respite. Finally, there is a $23.6 million expenditure over five years to enable respite, early intervention and other services for children in their local area.

Whilst I have some quibbles about some of the policy and the way it applies, there will be people in my electorate who will benefit from this assistance. There is some concern, however, that the minister, who earlier had undertaken to match the states and territories fifty-fifty for unmet needs for services, has withdrawn his undertaking. I am not sure of the impact that will have on the Commonwealth allocation of resources in this area, but it would seem to me that to withdraw a commitment that was earlier given would suggest there could well be some shortfall in allocation of funding in this very important area. I would hate to think that is the case, so I would hope the government can explain why it chose to withdraw its undertaking to match the amount made and paid by the states and territories.

The other matter I wanted to touch upon, and the member for Pearce referred to it, was the carer adjustment payment. I am very much aware of the origin of the carer adjustment payment because the carer adjustment payment was introduced in response to a tragic story of Tyler Fishlock, a constituent of mine from Caroline Springs. Tyler, who was four years old at the time, lost his eyes to a rare cancer. His mother had to give up her teaching job in order to care for Tyler but was struggling to survive on the $46 per week that she was in receipt of. After much lobbying and a significant amount of promotion of the story through the media, the government announced a one-off grant of $10,000 to be paid to Tyler Fishlock’s family. That was certainly a sum that assisted that family. I applauded the efforts made by the government at the time and I am happy to do so again.

There are issues about the application of this carer adjustment payment beyond the Fishlock family. This is the problem when you do make announcements—there was a heartrending story and the government responded. I was approached in May by Joanne Buttigieg, who is also, it so happens, from Caroline Springs. Joanne has two children with autism spectrum disorder. Her 11-year-old daughter has Asperger’s syndrome and has a generalised anxiety disorder, while her 9½-year-old son has severe autism, is nonverbal and is intellectually disabled. Immediately upon hearing of the $10,000 grant to Tyler Fishlock’s family, she approached Centrelink to ascertain how she could apply for a similar grant. In May—at the time of the announcement, the details were very sketchy—Joanne wrote to my office and said:

My concern and that of several families I speak to, is the lack of information available to us about this disability grant. Also, the fact that the whole process appears to be riddled with inconsistencies and bias against families that do not have media support.

Whether that is the case or not, I can well understand her concern and disappointment that she was not going to be in receipt of anything given her circumstances. Gradually, it emerged that, because her children were over six years of age, she was not eligible. Some families that she knew were eligible and others were not without there being an apparent connection to financial need or severity of disability.

In June this year, Joanne wrote to me again and said:

I do not think that my family is eligible as both children are over 6 years of age. This just does not seem right ... as both children were diagnosed just before the ages of 3 years. Also, their disability and all the challenges we face in trying to deal with them all on a daily basis with very little support, do not miraculously disappear at the age of 6. Indeed, the difficulties and challenges increase with age.

Joanne is delighted that the Tyler Fishlock family was in receipt of support. She wishes them all the best. But there is an issue about the application of the carer adjustment payment. We are not sure whether it is based on merit. It is a real issue. It is a difficult issue, too. I concede the point that you have to work out the extent to which the Commonwealth can outlay resources. But, given the announcement made by the Prime Minister this year arising out of that particular case, it would have been best for the government to have considered the way that it would apply the adjustment payment. I am not sure whether age is the right criteria to use when you are talking about disability. That is a real difficulty.

I am supporting this bill, as you know. This matter does not refer specifically to the application of the carer adjustment payment, but the government has to come up with a better application of the payment—the $10,000—to families that are placed in very difficult circumstances. Some cynicism has arisen out of this matter, because there was so much media for that poor child and his family and about how his mother was coping in particular. Joanne’s feeling is that her not seeking to go to the media to raise the matter publicly was as much a reason why she was denied support than her actual eligibility for the payment. I have to say that it is hard for me to convince her otherwise—indeed, I am not convinced myself that the application of the payment was properly and fully considered by the government.

I ask the minister to consider the application of the $10,000 one-off payment to families for children under the age of six with disabilities. The age threshold is not really the most relevant factor when determining assistance for children with disabilities, given Joanne’s comments. Quite honestly, in some circumstances it does not get easier but gets harder to look after a severely disabled child over the age of six. Therefore, the policy is deficient to that extent. I do not want to be entirely critical, because firstly I support the bill and secondly I support the fact that the government responded. But I think that it perhaps did not respond properly enough. I do not think that the way that it is applied is sound policy. I think that Joanne Buttigieg and her family—and many other families in my electorate and, indeed, in every electorate of this country—have a justifiable case to say that they are equally in need and deserving of support from the Commonwealth.

Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Disability Assistance) Bill 2007 and pleased to see the support of the opposition parties for it. The bill introduces a new payment called child disability assistance into the social security law. This assistance will be available to carers of disabled children under the age of 16 in respect of whom the carer receives carer allowance for the relevant period. The Australian government will provide funding of $721.2 million over five years to provide families caring for a child with disability who is aged less than 16 with an annual payment of $1,000. This money can be used for things such as helping with the purchase of a wheelchair, installation of a hoist in the family home and modifications to the family car, as well as for respite care or therapy. The government recognises that children with disabilities and their families have diverse needs which may change over time. Younger children with disability can benefit from early intervention and therapy to maximise their childhood developing and learning.

The first payment of child disability assistance will be made in October 2007 through Centrelink, and payments will be made on 1 July 2008 and in July of subsequent years. The $1,000 annual payment will not be indexed and the child disability assistance will be exempt from tax. This payment will be well received by many parents—particularly in the electorate of Hasluck but I am sure across the country—who struggle every day to provide for their children suffering from a range of disabilities and to provide the best possible opportunities for them.

I recently became acutely aware of the hardships that quite a number of amazing parents across my electorate of Hasluck endure. They are remarkable people whose energy seems boundless given that they are raising a child or, in some cases, children with autism. Autism is a condition which affects a large number of children in Australia and, sadly, there is no known cure. Tragically, there are more children being diagnosed each year. The diagnosis of autism is not immediate; it takes some years to show. Often, when their child reaches the age of two, parents start to notice that their healthy child does not respond in the same ways that other children do. They appear to be disconnected and disassociated from the world and do not cope with too many stimulations. As these children grow they become more withdrawn, depending on their ‘functioning level’—that is a term often used by parents with an autistic child. Sadly, their life is ruled by the impact of influences that the child feels. Also sadly, dealing with an autistic child can bring relationships to breaking point. Many autistic children do not have the power of speech, so when a child with autism is upset and crying or screaming, as all children do, it is often impossible for the parent to diagnose whether their child has an earache, they have been stung by a bee or they are feeling stressed by something else.

I have raised four daughters, so I know that when a child is crying it is relatively easy to find out what the cause of the problem is, what the pain is and how to remedy the problem, but parents of children with autism are not so fortunate. They have no way to determine what can set off their child; they just have to try everything they know to calm the situation. Bouts of crying or patterned behaviour can last for hours on end and the only thing parents can do is provide love and stay calm and in control so as not to exacerbate the situation and further add to the stress of the child.

Parents with an autistic child do not have a great deal of support. They are left to try and navigate their child and the rest of their family through a minefield of uncertainty. It takes a long time to accept that your healthy, perfect-looking child through no fault of their own cannot play a part in normal family life. To not be able to show where it hurts, what is wrong or what you are frightened of must be a terrifying dilemma. There is no magic solution. It is a constant, tough grind all the way. As the child grows, they are often harder to help. Schools are not easy places for children who suffer autism. One of the common issues for them is that they do not like change; they cannot cope with things being slightly different from the way they were yesterday. Life with a child who suffers from autism is more than challenging, but I am truly amazed at the strength, energy and love that the parents of these children have. They take the hard road. Many are advised to place their children into care upon diagnosis of the condition. Most leave the doctor’s surgery and take their child home with the faith that they will cope, but they do occasionally need a hand.

I was very pleased to hear the previous speaker, the member for Gorton, raise an issue about which I share the same level of concern—that is, about the parents of autistic children who have not been able to apply for the recently announced $10,000 carers adjustment payment. This has had a significant impact on a number of families in my electorate of Hasluck and those with autistic children. The member for Gorton went into some detail about that and he is absolutely right: the government should address this. There is an opportunity here to provide support for these people. To gain support, these parents have little choice but to write lengthy submissions begging for a small amount of funding to provide for some respite time. Their time is not their own unless they are lucky to get assistance with respite. Hopefully this can be addressed as a matter of urgency. I call on the minister, as the member for Gorton has, to address that.

As a government, we need to do more to help these parents. This new $1,000 payment will go some way to helping these good people, but there is more to do. While I want more done for autism-affected families and other families adversely affected by a disabled child or parent, it would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to the government for the vastly improved levels of funding across the entire disability sector. The government will provide some $13.6 billion to support people with disability, their families and carers. The main features are $9.7 billion to support people with disabilities through the disability support pension, mobility allowance, the sickness allowance, employment assistance and vocational rehabilitation; $2.9 billion to support carers, including through the carers allowance, carer payments, wife pension, respite and information services for younger carers, private provision for people with disability and peer support groups for parents of children with disability; and $992.8 million to support people with disability through the Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement, including supported employment services, Auslan and COAG commitments for younger people with disability in residential aged care, respite for older carers, and mental health.

In June this year the Prime Minister, John Howard, announced the $1.8 billion disability assistance package, which we are debating here today. The key areas of this disability package include $721.2 million for carers of around 130,000 children with disability under the age of 16, who will receive $1,000 each to help with the purchase of support that best suits their needs; $962 million to help older carers and their families, providing around 1,750 new supported accommodation places and 800 new respite places by 2012, as well as extra in-home support and respite to older carers to continue care at home; and $236 million over five years to enable several services for children with disability to continue to provide much needed respite, early intervention and other services for children in their local area. There will also be an increased investment in employment services for people with disability, including $21.6 million for an extra 500 supported employment places in business services, $31 million to continue targeted support to people with disability who choose not to participate in supported employment and $21.8 million in viability support to help businesses in crisis.

It would be very good to mention an organisation in my electorate, Perth Regional Roof Trusses, who have been very successful in employing people with hearing impairment. They have been supported in that process through an employment group called DEAFinite, who have provided a number of people who in effect are deaf. The proprietors of the business have learnt Auslan. They have done a fantastic job. Over 50 per cent of their employees are people who are so afflicted, and the morale and support in that organisation is truly a great credit to that organisation. They are all working manually with power saws and cutting timber and putting it together in, as I said, roof trusses. It is a fantastic organisation, and the fantastic commitment of the proprietors of that business is a great credit to them.

On top of all this, the government is offering to contribute $3.275 billion to a multilateral agreement with the states and territories to deliver services in their own area of disability support, which are accommodation, respite, community support and community access. Unfortunately, as I understand it, the states have not come to the party in agreeing to those arrangements.

In respect of my own state of Western Australia, this offer represents a provision of $215 million over five years beginning in 2007-08. In addition, the Australian government has committed $12.1 million to help Western Australia achieve a net reduction in the number of young disabled people living in residential aged care. While speaking of WA and autism, which I was earlier, I mentioned a disturbing and disappointing story which has recently emerged in respect of autistic students getting educational assistance at a Perth school. Parents of autistic children at a special autism learning unit at the Allenswood Primary School in Greenwood, in Perth’s northern suburbs, had to make alternative education arrangements after the education department in WA abruptly shut the unit. The unit provided intensive education support for six autistic children. Parents said that they had received just three days notice before the end of term 2 that this unit would not be available in the third term, which is currently under way. The WA education department said the closure was due to the sudden resignation of the specialist teacher. It can only now say it is hopeful another teacher can be found for the start of school next year.

This action by the WA department compounds the issues of both parents and students. Schools are not easy places for children who suffer autism. I mentioned earlier that one of the common issues for children with autism is that they do not like change and they cannot cope with things being even slightly different to the way that they were yesterday. This has had a serious impact on those young children who attended that school. It is a very unfortunate circumstance and I would hope that the Western Australia Department of Education moves even more quickly to rectify the situation. While this provides another challenge for the parents, it is also a prime example of the difficulties faced by parents of autistic children as it impacts so severely on the progress their kids were making. The Western Australia Department of Education could also get its finger out—can I say things like that in this chamber?—and seek to fill the vacancy as a matter of urgency.

The WA Labor government likes to play fast and loose with the truth about Commonwealth funding. It is a standing joke in Western Australia when the Premier and his puppet master health minister, Jim McGinty, continue to defend the indefensible: their mismanagement of the public health system. The education system is somewhat similar, with a huge shortage of teachers across the state. They falsely claimed a lack of support from Canberra in the area of health, but they are caught out every time when they greedily line up for millions of dollars from the Commonwealth for funding things such as the disability assistance program. This program will enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities in Western Australia well into the future. The funding would make a substantial contribution to alleviating unmet need for disability support services in Western Australia, it would deliver additional disability services by non-government providers and it would ease pressure on existing services to the benefit of the disabled community in Western Australia.

Earlier, I mentioned Perth Regional Roof Trusses. They have been here for the Prime Minister’s awards a couple of times. They were successful last year in winning one of those awards for smaller employers employing people with disabilities, which was certainly very encouraging and fantastic for them. I have had a number of visits there. I have been moved to ensure that they get as much exposure as they possibly can because of their commitment to their employees. I mentioned that they have fantastic morale there. I have been able to organise in the past visits to the business by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relation and also the Prime Minister. That was very well received. The expression of support from those employees when the Prime Minister walked in to see what they were doing and what they had achieved was absolutely fantastic.

They are not the only organisation in my electorate that do things for and with people with disabilities; there are a number of other employers who do that. One of the things that has resulted from the government’s good economic management has been that the reduction in unemployment has meant that people with disabilities have more employment opportunities than they might otherwise have had. The feedback from people in my electorate of Hasluck in particular has been that they really appreciate and enjoy that opportunity to become normal people, so to speak, in the workforce and make a contribution. It has been of significant benefit and value to them not only from a financial point of view but also from their own mental health perspective. They feel much more able to make a solid contribution to society and to their community. Their sense of wellbeing as a result of that is very significant. Through Perth Regional Roof Trusses and other businesses in the area, I have been able to observe that firsthand. The flexibility that we now have in the workplace relations arrangements has also facilitated the employment of people with disabilities.

As I mentioned earlier, the government has done a significant amount as far as this is concerned. I know I have been communicating with families in my electorate. Once the Prime Minister made this announcement of the $1.8 billion disability assistance package I had a meeting with a number of parents in my electorate office to discuss the impact and the value of that. I know that that $1,000 will be put to great use by a number of these parents in ensuring that their children have some practical opportunity for additional therapy, but also for wheelchairs and, importantly—this is something that I think we often overlook ourselves—the modification of motor vehicles for people with disabilities. Whilst $1,000 often may not meet the total cost of that modification, it can go a long way towards achieving that. So I strongly support the bill.

Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Disability Assistance) Bill 2007and I thank the previous speaker for his contribution to assist me in getting to this chamber. The bill will introduce a new payment for child disability assistance into the social security law. Child disability assistance will be available to carers of disabled children under the age of 16 in respect of whom the carer receives carer allowance for the relevant period. There is a significant amount of funding being provided in this bill and it is something that I congratulate the minister on. We will see the first payments of the child disability assistance being made in October 2007, and payments in respect of 1 July 2008 and subsequent years will be made in the July of that relevant year. It will be an annual amount of $1,000, which will not be indexed, but the child disability assistance will be exempt from tax.

This payment has been introduced because the government has recognised that children with disabilities have diverse needs that change over time. I am particularly involved in issues of child disability. I have seen the remarkable outcomes for children when endeavours are made towards early intervention so that children can have access to services made very soon after early diagnosis. The outcomes that come from that are extraordinary. Young children with disabilities can benefit from our early intervention and therapy, which maximises their learning and their ability to lead as close to a normal life as possible. Families and children also benefit from things such as respite care and a whole host of aids and equipment.

I want to raise to the attention of the House the endeavours of one of my local organisations, Kurrajong Early Intervention Service, which was able to get funding from the government through the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. The government funded them to determine how we could work together in early childhood intervention and they have produced the book Team around the Child: Working together in early childhood intervention, which has achieved significant outcomes. It starts with the central being, the child of course, and goes on to include the family and the key workers such as the physiotherapists. It involves the family support worker being put in place. It involves the grandparents and significant others in the child’s life. It involves the childcare workers, the speech pathologists, the occupational therapists and the special educators. What we have seen is an unbelievable movement in the way we can provide family support in a multidisciplinary context across the life span of the child who has been diagnosed with a disability.

This particular program was made possible by the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. The capacity of the outreach part of this program, which went from the hub of Wagga Wagga out along the spokes to Temora, Tumut, Narrandera and other towns, to deliver to the families was extraordinary. The achievements and the improvements in the children’s developmental capacity was, I believe, nothing short of miraculous. That is something that is so important for us to consider. We have specific issues with an increasing range of autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger’s. Well in excess of 10,000 children across Australia have been diagnosed and are under treatment for autism spectrum disorder. That is the number diagnosed and in treatment. Maybe that amount again have autism spectrum disorder but are undiagnosed or do not have access to diagnostic opportunities or to the services that would be required on diagnosis. It is something that parents are particularly focused on.

We need to try to ensure that governments, oppositions and the general Australian population recognise that as our children develop there needs to be constant effort put into providing aids, programs and equipment that can continue to improve the children’s responses and capacity. There needs to be home and vehicle modifications. Even things such as a hoist in the home would assist in the house or help with travel in the family car—travel that many of us take for granted. This is where this kind of payment helps. It helps purchase these kinds of aids for things that many of us just take for granted that we have the capacity to do.

The new child disability assistance will assist carers with the purchase of many options that they may not have been able to afford. Primarily, they have to have a comparatively high income to be able to respond adequately and effectively to a disabled child’s needs. Not only that: there are families with a child with a diagnosed disability such as autism who go on to have other children only to find that that diagnosis applies to the other children—they may not have just one disabled child. In fact, I frequently come in contact with a young lady in my electorate—she is a young mum and is about four foot 11—who has three children who are severely disabled. She does a sensational job.

When you have three children who require differing forms of aid programs and assistance—intervention services, maybe speech pathology, maybe something to do with their eyesight, maybe something to do with their motor skills—it is very, very expensive. It is extraordinarily costly and takes all of their money to provide the benefits and services that they believe that their children are entitled to. So it was especially pleasing to see that Minister Mal Brough—and I note that the minister is here—has continued to listen to the issues of people with disabilities. He has continued to listen to the significant others in the lives of children and people with disabilities and has responded with the $1.8 billion announcement that was made in June. It is particularly pleasing to see that the government has continued to focus on issues of disability.

Could I come back to the book based in my electorate: Team around the Child. I must pay tribute to Sue Davies, who is the manager of Kurrajong Early Intervention Service. She is the most dedicated and committed person that I have ever seen—so much so that she is probably a little bit like me. She is exuberant and can sometimes be challenging for others to deal with. But she gets the results; that is the most important thing.

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are a few people like that in this place!

Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Absolutely. She gets the results. This is not a result for Sue Davies personally, for her personal life; this is a result that Sue Davies has delivered as the Manager of Kurrajong Early Intervention Service to families right across my electorate and beyond. She has brought together a wide range of experience. The team consists of, as I said, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, special educators and family support workers. Through the Rural Beginnings Program, funded by the minister sitting here today in the chamber, she has been able to give hope and deliver enormous steps forward for our children with disabilities, their families and communities.

Kurrajong Early Intervention Service was one of only 23 providers that were successful in obtaining a grant under the Australian government’s Early Childhood—Invest to Grow initiative to operate their Rural Beginnings Program. Their main goals have always been to work with families and their children to enable the children to reach their full potential and the families to function effectively and functionally as an accepted part of the community. That is the entitlement of all Australians—to be able to reach their full potential and function as a family regardless of the trials and tribulations of disabilities that may come.

One of the main aims was to expand the evidence base of what works in early childhood intervention and to develop tools and resources to support other early childhood intervention services in rural and isolated areas. In many of the city areas we take it for granted that we can access the types of occupational services that we require. But certainly in rural areas they are very difficult to access. So this program was essential in exposing people to a suite of services to determine whether this could make a difference, and it certainly has made a difference. It has allowed Kurrajong Early Intervention Service to expand and develop their innovative model of early childhood intervention and their service delivery to rural areas around my electorate.

More than one in 20 young children from nought to six years of age in New South Wales have a disability or a developmental delay. The first three years of life are critical to lay the foundations for what will happen over the life span. Our research shows that early childhood intervention can significantly improve the development and functioning of children with disabilities and developmental delays, make a substantial difference to families’ wellbeing and reduce both the children’s and families’ dependence on costly specialist services later in life, which is a cost to government and to the taxpayer. Investment in the early years will have substantial long-term benefits. For every dollar spent in early intervention there is a saving of $700 to the community. It is in these ways that early childhood intervention benefits us all and deserves the support of our entire community and our governments.

Early childhood intervention really does make a difference, so the services that Kurrajong Early Intervention Service provide are simply so important. The best part about their book is that it will allow other professionals and service providers to take the information and the work that has been compiled by Kurrajong Early Intervention Service that has been found to be successful in delivering results and to incorporate these well-documented measures into their own services and practices. The book also addresses the difficult problems of recruitment and retention of therapists to country areas and it recognises this through, as I have indicated previously, the hub and spoke structure.

As I have indicated, the organisation received funding under Stronger Families and Communities of $1.5 million over the years 2004 to 2008. I truly believe that this is a really great example of the community taking responsibility and applying guidelines to manage early intervention within communities in various areas of population and availability of services.

The Rural Beginnings Project has enabled the expansion of these services to the areas of Tumut, Tumbarumba, Gundagai, Temora, Cootamundra, Junee, Narrandera, Lockhart and Coolamon, with between 60 to 70 families in these areas alone supported through this program. There is a team of 24 people and each year there are up to 200 children just from those small areas on their books. Kurrajong Early Intervention Service is regarded as a lighthouse program and a best practice service. The book has the potential to be a timely catalyst in Australian early intervention for children.

Again I take the opportunity to congratulate the Kurrajong Early Intervention Team on the work that they have done with the model and the book. It is so fantastic to see the innovative ideas and exciting practices that will now be able to be followed by many throughout Australia and even on an international level. You can pick up many programs from this book and drop them into so many communities.

I support this bill entirely. It will improve the quality of life for around 130,000 children with a disability, their families and their carers, and it is a practical way in which we as federal members and as a government can help with difficult, challenging and lifelong tasks that may be undertaken in caring for a child with a disability. I commend the bill. I commend Kurrajong Early Intervention Service and I commend the staff and the dedicated and committed people who provide a service well and truly above and beyond their financial remuneration. If you were to factor in the hours that they put in out of their own valuable recreation time—time that they are not spending with their families or doing things of pleasure for themselves—you would see the great amount of effort they devote to children. I commend the bill to the House and thank the minister for his unrelenting support of families supporting children with a disability.

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment (Child Disability Assistance) Bill 2007 is extremely important. I say that because I do not think any of us who are fortunate enough to have able-bodied, able-minded children can really appreciate what it must be like for a parent who gives to a disabled child. We all give equal love and care to our children, as well as comfort and advice and all of those things—sustenance to life—and it is challenging enough trying to bring children up in a modern society. But, for caring for children with the sort of disabilities that the member for Riverina refers to, these people do not just deserve anything and everything we can give them; as my dad would say, they deserve a medal. It is extraordinary.

I was reminded when looking at some of the photos in the book launched by the Kurrajong Early Intervention Service—and I am pleased that we have been able to help with this with our Stronger Families and Communities initiatives—that these people do not ask for much. They really do not. In many cases they do not see themselves as being unfortunate. They love and nurture their children and they treasure every day. But we have to accept that every day is also a struggle such that many think, ‘But for the grace of God there go I.’ When the Prime Minister and I announced the $1.8 billion package of which this is part, the thing that really appalled me was that this was such good news but the media hardly did a thing with it. I say this from the bottom of my heart because these people need to know that there are taxpayers out there who are happy to see their money assisting them via Commonwealth spending.

As a cabinet we sat around and we thought about this $1,000 payment. I am going to come to where and why we came to this payment in a moment, but we thought: should we restrict this to things such as some of the things that the member for Riverina has been talking about—harnesses, alterations to cars to allow people with physical disabilities to be able to get in and out, swings to get them into baths and that sort of thing? We thought no. We thought that, if you have what it takes to be a parent of one or even more than one disabled child, you do not need a bureaucrat or a government to tell you how to spend every last cent you have in the best interests of your family.

Quite frankly, if what is going to help some child is a big plasma television, you go right ahead and buy one. On the other hand, if you need to buy some respite, if you need to do some sort of intervention in the home, do it. I want people to know that this is not a one-off; this is forever. This is forever under a Howard government—a coalition government, anyway; I cannot speak for anyone else. This is what we are committing to not just today but into the future. It is not a one-off payment. What it means is that parents can actually plan for what they want to do with this money for their children, to just make that life a little bit easier. That is why it is so important.

Where did it come from? During the speeches from the members for Jagajaga and Gorton, one or two of them asked, ‘Why doesn’t this go beyond 16-year-olds?’ The reason we are actually here is that I, as the minister, and the Prime Minister have quite frankly had a gutful of trying to deal with state governments who have been responsible for these groups and have not stepped up to the plate. We felt we could hand another $1.6 billion over to the states, and hope and pray they would give the money to the children who need it and other groups, or we could actually cut out the middleman and go straight to the person and let them buy the intervention that they needed. I was a very strong advocate for that, because we have a thing called the Commonwealth State Territory Disability Agreement, and it goes for five years. The first one was in 1991; the last one was due for renegotiation and finished on June 2007—and, Mr Deputy Speaker, you will recall that that has elapsed. We do not have another five-year agreement, the reason being that on 3 April, I think, in Brisbane every Labor state minister walked out on me as the Commonwealth minister when I put an offer on the table saying the Commonwealth would put not a dollar limited amount but a fifty-fifty deal with the states and territories to actually do something positive for people with disabilities. They walked out of the room. They caucused, they came back, they read a statement and they declared the meeting closed without comment. That is the sort of reaction we got from Labor state governments and territory governments—universally, unanimously.

I came back to the Prime Minister and said that we as a Commonwealth have a duty of care. We are a wealthy country. We are in the best financial shape we have ever been in and, as the minister, I feel that there is no alternative but for us to try and do something practical. I had people, the sector, say to me: ‘Please do something for us but don’t just have two systems, because that is what we tried to overcome in 1991. Don’t have all of the duplications. You don’t do a bit and they don’t do a bit and you end up with all of this blame game.’ Hence we have gone directly to them. We have said we will do this for children under the age of 16 and that will be the cut-off. The Commonwealth is now putting $1.8 billion additional new money into disabilities, which is money that represents a 55 per cent increase to our contribution.

We have not stopped there. We also have made a guarantee, which I am very passionate about, for the first time in this nation’s history to these same sort of parents who, when the child is five and six today, will still be caring for their child—their daughter, their son—when the child is 40 and 50 and they are 70, 80 and even 90 years of age. Do you know what these people want? Mr Deputy Speaker, I know that you are aware of this, and I know that the member for Gilmore is very aware of it because she has been to see me about Anglicare and Havenlee in Nowra, in her electorate, trying to have respite. What worries them is that they have given their entire life to their child, almost given up their own life because they want to give something to the one they have brought into this world, and their biggest fear is: ‘What will happen when I am too frail or I die? Who is going to look after my child? Will they be abused? Will they be neglected? Where will they go?’ The fear that is in their hearts is palpable when you sit there in front of them. They are not asking for anything for themselves—no thankyous, no medals; all they want to know is that their kid is going to be safe.

Under the package that the Prime Minister and I announced, we gave that guarantee. We now have people in the field talking to every carer aged over 65 who has been caring long term for a child about giving them a plan that will suit them. Some of it will be in their own home. Some of it will be in shared accommodation. Some of it will be with HACC style interventions. It will be through all sorts of things, but it will be what is important to them.

Again, that had to happen because the states and territories were not interested in doing that. I think that is a great shame on us as Australians and on them as state and territory Labor governments. That is why we are here. That is why we are doing that and that is why, when the opposition asks me these questions, these are the answers. It is because they have been failed by another level of government. We could have simply said, ‘I am sorry but, since 1991, the deal has been that that is the responsibility of the states—and they won’t do it.’ How the hell do you turn your back on people that have done that? When you have the wealth that this country has, you cannot do that. I am really proud to be part of a government that has said we will not do that and we will move forward.

Why don’t we have another five-year agreement? Because the states and territories, believe it or not, in 2007 will not agree to accountability and transparency. That is what the delay has been. But I think I have nearly got them there; we should have them there in November. But we would not have another agreement without external validation of supported accommodation. Let me put that into plain language. It means that when someone is disabled and they need other people to live with them and support them in their living on an everyday basis—in other words, shared accommodation, hostels, community living—up until now, in many cases, there have been no checks and balances as to the safety of those people who live in community housing. I have seen the worst of it in my own electorate, where people have faced charges because of that. Would anyone think for a moment that any Australian government would stand here today and say, ‘We will remove external validation of aged care’? You would not get away with it—and nor should you get away with it. If we said we will no longer apply standards to child care, we would not get away with that either.

But the states have been responsible for disabilities—and you can have shared accommodation, supported accommodation, and not have external validation. It was an aspiration under the last five-year agreement. The Commonwealth entered into that aspirational goal. We fulfilled our responsibility and we do have external validation for business services—what people used to know as sheltered workshops. They have the checks and balances there, but many of the states have not done it or have done it to an inappropriate level. We, the Commonwealth, have demanded that that happen in this agreement, or there will be no agreement. We will take them to the table. I wonder whether, if there is a change of government, we will have that same level of determination by a Rudd Labor government. I guarantee you we will not. So external validation, access for Aboriginals—the First Australians—and transparency and accountability are the reasons why we will still be trying to get a Commonwealth-state disability agreement.

Why did we withdraw the fifty-fifty deal? Because when I put a fifty-fifty deal on the table they walked out. I wrote to them. They wrote back and said, ‘We’ll think about it and consider it and we might do something.’ The agreement was due to expire on 30 June—not to be renegotiated, but to expire. People out there were very fearful of what was going to happen, so the Commonwealth—the Prime Minister and I—acted and we announced this. Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT came to the party and we have supported them, but Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania said no. It says a hell of a lot about what they think of people with disabilities. Quite frankly, the disingenuous comments from those opposite—such as ‘Why does this cut off above 16-year-olds?’ and ‘Why haven’t you done the CSTDA yet?’—mean either that they are ignorant or playing politics with the most vulnerable and needy people in the community. The reality is that we have put $1.8 billion into this because we can afford it and because we should do so. We should no longer allow state and territory governments to simply say, ‘We’re not putting our hand up, we are not doing it, and that is just too bad for these families.’

They deserve every single cent that we can give them. They deserve our support and they deserve the admiration of the Australian public. As many of them often say to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and to me, imagine what the cost would be if we abdicated our responsibility. They would never do that. They love their children far too much. But the cost would be phenomenal. Today, as the member for Riverina said, with things such as Asperger’s unfortunately growing for some reason that I cannot explain and the many other intellectual issues that beset so many of our young people, we as a nation owe it to those families to give them every support. This is a practical measure that the Commonwealth government has introduced. It is something that I know will make a difference in people’s lives. We are delighted that we have a strong enough economy that we can do it. We will continue to support these people into the future. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.