Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

As I was concluding there, we will have staffing levels below 3,000 rather than about 10,000. Average package costs when we came into office in the first quarter of the scheme were about $46,000. We have now consistently had that down to about the mid-30s, which is where it should be.

We have also kept enhancing and building on the actuarial capacity of the agency, which is important because the whole basis of the scheme is early investment to reduce long-term costs. We also have $143 million in the budget to build a new ICT system that is critical to making sure that the scheme can be delivered efficiently to provide consistent supports for people with disabilities.

I can report that the scheme and the trial sites are operating within budget. That is good news. As I said, this is a shared venture with state and territory partners, but I particularly thank the staff of the agency for the work they have done. (Time expired)