National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill
HOUSING Level 4, 333 Queen St, Melbourne Vic 3000
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AUSTRALIA
24 January 2012
Committee Secretary Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Australia Dear Committee Secretary
National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill
Housing Choices Australia is a leading national not-for-profit housing provider. We are dedicated to creating safe and affordable housing for people who are disadvantaged and struggling to find a home in Australia’s challenging private rental market. We provide our residents with a dedicated housing management service that actively manages and maintains their homes to ensure stable tenancies. Our skilled teams work closely with support agencies to ensure successful housing outcomes.
The proposed NDIS Bill is a substantial and welcome reform to the disability sector. It appears that its sole focus is on the provision of support that provided choice and portability in provider and service. Our primary concern is that it does not address accommodation, which for some people with a disability, is a fundamental need and should go “hand in hand” with support.
It is suggested that the following matters be addressed:
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Capital funding for projects and accommodation allowance - Our experience when implementing projects for our Disability Housing Trust is there is a serious mismatch between recipients with ISP’s and suitable long term secure accommodation. If the private market is unaffordable and the available accommodation is not modified to suit disability requirements, recipients then turn to the community Housing Sector where capital for disability housing is scarce. With capital for disability housing scarce and the inability of support recipients to pay above 25% of their pension the options are limited.
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Operational and financial implications relating to the transfer of shared supported accommodation to the NDIS — is block funding ongoing, how are overheads maintained if there are vacancies and so on
We wish to stress that we certainly support the aims of the NDIS and our objectives are complimentary and include:
- To safeguard the interests of residents to ensure that a suitable regulatory system applies to their accommodation;
- To promote choice through the separation of support and accommodation functions
Housing Choices Australia is the trading name for the following group entities:
Housing Choices Australia Limited Disability Housing Limited Inner City Social Housing Trust ABN 23 385 731 870 ABN 69 118 571 547 ABN 52 048 861 073 Singleton Equily Housing Limited Disability Housing Trust Ecumenical Housing Trust ABN 40 007 008 853 ABN 16 894 424 879 ABN 94 418 826 995
To maximise the availability of housing choice via the provision of a range of housing
types and support options.
| thank you for the opportunity to provide comments and | am available to discuss these
issues further, | can be contacted on 86369412.
Yours sincerely
Jean Nankin Development Manager
Housing Choices Australia is the trading name for the following group entities:
Housing Choices Australia Limited Disability Housing Limited ABN 23 385 731 870 ABN 69 118 571 547 Singleton Equity Housing Limited Disability Housing Trust
ABN 40 007 008 853 ABN 16 894 424 879
Inner City Social Housing Trust ABN 52 048 861 073
Ecumenical Housing Trust ABN 94 418 826 995