TheSalvationArmy
Australia Southern Territory Headquarters
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
Email: community. affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
Friday 25“ January 2013
Dear Committee Secretary
Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs on the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Bill 2012
The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory welcomes the opportunity to comment on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Bill that is currently before federal parliament.
This submission is made on behalf of The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory (AUS) which incorporates the jurisdictions of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The Salvation Army AUS is one of Australia’s largest providers of social services and programs for the most marginalised and socially excluded individuals, and this submission is informed by these experiences and The Salvation Army’s collective knowledge and expertise about the causes, impacts and solutions to disadvantage.
About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is one of the largest national providers of welfare services. Operating for over 130 years in Australia, The Salvation Army has a significant history working with and advocating for the rights and needs of disadvantaged people in our community. Consistent with the organisation’s values of human dignity, justice, hope, compassion and community, The Salvation Army is committed to the promotion of social justice and protection of the rights of disadvantaged and vulnerable people.
The Salvation Army Australia, with an annual operating budget of approximately $600 million, provides over 1,000 social programs and activities through a network of social support services, community centres and churches across the country.
In the past 12 months, The Salvation Army Australia provided over one million occasions of service to people in need. This included more than 200,000 people provided with emergency relief, over 140,000 meals, over 3,000 women supported through family and domestic violence services, and over 1,000 crisis and 6,000 non-crisis accommodation beds every night of the year.
The Salvation Army AUS support for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
The Salvation Army AUS applauds the commitment of the federal and state governments to this major reform to the disability service system, and the scheme’s inherent recognition of individuals with disability as people with rights and dignities that are afforded to all people in our community.
As stated in the Productivity Commission report, Disability Care and Support (2011):
“Disability exacerbates disadvantage. People with a disability and their carers often also experience low levels of income, educational attainment, employment, superannuation, health and wellbeing.” ‘
Although the work of The Salvation Army AUS is not primarily in the area of disability support, people with disabilities are significantly represented in our services.
, Productivity Commission 2011, Disability Care and Support, Report No.54, Canberra, p.7
Postal Address: PO Box 479, Blackburn, Vic. 3130
Australia
95 — 99 Railway Road, Blackburn, Vic. 3130 Australia Telephone: (03) 8878 4500 Fax: (03) 8878 4805
William Booth Founder Linda Bond General Raymond A. Finger Territorial Commander
In April 2012, The Salvation Army Australia released its inaugural Economic and Social Impact Survey (ESI Survey)’. The main premise of the survey was to gain insight into the economic and social impact of cost of living pressures of people seeking emergency relief through The Salvation Army services. Of the 1731 respondents to the survey, almost one quarter (22%) were in receipt of a disability support payment.
A consistent theme highlighted in the report was that a large number of people in the community struggle to meet everyday expenses and financial commitments. The report also suggests that these individuals were experiencing severe levels of deprivation, which further compromises individual and family living standards and inclusion in the Australian community.
The Salvation Army AUS supports the general principles that underpin this scheme — independence, recognition of rights, individual agency and an ability to exercise choice and control over planning and delivery of supports, and inclusion in community, employment and education.
The Salvation Army AUS supports the focus of the NDIS in addressing key issues raised in the Productivity Commission report, including service fragmentation and inefficiencies, under and inadequate funding, lack of choice and lack of certainty of access. In particular, The Salvation Army AUS supports the following components of the NDIS which we view as essential and significant advancements to the current system:
e The capacity and capabilities and the individual agency of people with disability to direct, determine and participate in decision making processes, and their inherent rights to have a place within the community.
o The scheme gives effect to certain obligations under the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (of which Australia is a signatory), notably, recognition of the rights of the individual to participate in decision making and determination processes about their care.
e The consistency of processes, access and availability of services and supports for individuals that a national scheme provides.
e The early intervention approach that recognises the long term impact of disability and the need for lifelong planning and service funding commitment.
e Individualised participant plans, directed by the participant where possible, that aim to facilitate tailored and flexible responses to individual goals and needs of individuals.
e The additional role of the NDIS provider agency to provide information and community awareness that raises the profile of the capacities and capabilities of people with disability.
The Salvation Army AUS commends the federal government for advancing this important milestone, and strongly advocates for the continued momentum towards a system that affirms and values the rights, capacities and capabilities of individuals with disability within the Australian community.
If you wish to discuss this submission further, please contact Ms Netty Horton, Territorial Social Programme Director
Yours sincerely
Colonel Peter Walker
Chief Secretary.
? The Salvation Army Australia. (2012) The economic and social impact of cost of living pressures on people accessing emergency relief. A national survey. http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/Global/News%20and%20Media/Reports/2012/00400-04-2012 economic-and-social-impact-survey.pdf