Community Participation Program
| About this Item |
Subjects | Training Schemes; Handicapped and Disabled |
Speakers | Ryan The Hon John; Della Bosca The Hon John |
Business | Questions Without Notice |
Commentary | Further answer to question asked earlier in question time by John Ryan |
Page: 14778
The Hon. JOHN DELLA BOSCA: Earlier in question time the Hon. John Ryan asked me about the so-called Wollongong study and the costings of the new Community Participation and Transition to Work programs. I can confirm to the honourable member that the study he was describing has not been completed. As my predecessor, the Hon. Carmel Tebbutt, and the director-general explained to the honourable member at some length during the estimates hearings—the honourable member talked about me having a poor memory—the purpose of the study was not to conclude a costing of post school training programs. Rather, the study was done on the basis of a comparison with other States and the costing levels of their programs. I will repeat word for word what the honourable member was told during the estimates hearings by the director-general, Brendan O'Reilly. He said:
The costings of the program initially were developed by the department drawing on studies that had been commissioned into community access programs, information held about the potential costs of these programs and an analysis of the structure and costs of similar programs in other jurisdictions. The funding levels in New South Wales are comparable to what is happening in other States. South Australia has an average funding level of $14,190; Victoria has five funding levels between $7,000 and $21,695; Queensland funds between $7,500 and $18,000 and only for a maximum of five years; Western Australian funding levels range from $1,450 to $6,800 for low support need levels and to a maximum of $20,500; and the Commonwealth benchmark rate for those people who are not going to be involved in vocational-type transition arrangements is currently $9,000.