Question 1

Amy:

In answers to questions on notice, it is stated that there were approximately 700 former Disability Services clients who are ineligible for the NDIS, 17 of those people are funded for support through the Continuity of Support Program. Of the remaining approximately 680 former Disability Services clients who are ineligible for both NDIS and the Continuity of Support Program, is the department tracking how many of these cohort receive equivalent support through programs such as the Community Support Scheme or mainstream services?

DG of Department of Disability Services:

Regarding the Continuity of Support Program, our responsibility is for administering those arrangements to those clients and, as I am sure you are aware, previous clients of state funded Disability Services who are under the age of 65 who are deemed by the NDIA to be ineligible under the NDIS because of disability or residency requirements. We remain committed to ensuring that those clients who require ongoing funded specialist disability supports to maintain wellbeing and prevent hardships are supported. We have committed further funding of $7.3 million over four years and $1.8 million ongoing to provide support for former Disability Services clients.

There are currently 17 Queenslanders aged under 65 who are accessing their disability funded support under the Continuity of Support Program. They fall into a range of age groups. Seven of the 17 people being supported are aged between 12 and 40 years, and 10 people are aged between 41 and 60 years. Five of the 17 clients are accessing Continuity of Support because they did not meet disability access requirements for NDIS funded support, and 12 of the 17 clients did not meet the NDIA’s residency requirements for the scheme.