Skye Kakoschke-Moore (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) 7 to 13 August 2017 is Homelessness Week,

  (ii) the theme of this year's week is 'Action and Innovation' which aims to highlight the many effective approaches specialist homelessness services have implemented to prevent and respond to homelessness,

  (iii) Australians of all ages and backgrounds become homeless, however, some people are more vulnerable to homelessness than others,

  (iv) along with domestic violence, poverty, drug and alcohol use, mental health is a key cause of homelessness,

  (v) homelessness services which provide mental health support have expressed concern that many clients will not qualify for a package under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and, as a result, will be left without adequate support as funds are withdrawn from psychosocial support services and into the NDIS,

  (vi) the Productivity Commission's NDIS costs position paper, released in June 2017, stated that about 700 000 Australians experience a severe mental illness in any one year, however, according to the National Disability Insurance Agency, only around 64 000 people with psychosocial disability are expected to be eligible for individual packages in the NDIS, and

  (vii) the Productivity Commission also stated that 'it is unclear what supports will be available for people with a mental illness who do not meet the NDIS eligibility criteria and this should be clarified as a matter of urgency'; and

(b) calls on the Government to adequately fund services and programs which provide psychosocial support to ensure no one falls through the emerging gap between these services and the NDIS.

Question agreed to.