Parliamentary question without notice | Disability Funding
12/05/2015
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT ( 15:13 :55 ): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister, representing the Minister for Disabilities, questions about spending of allocated funding packages.
Leave granted.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: I have been contacted by a couple of constituents recently who are in receipt of support packages through Disability SA. They have told me that they have been granted some additional funding for requested supports for the current financial year, yet they have not been allowed to spend that granted funding or receive the service for which that funding was allocated. They have both been unofficially told by staff of Disability SA that, while that funding has been approved by Disability SA, staff have been told not to provide any additional services using that additional funding, even though it has been approved. My questions to the minister are:
1.Is there a policy within Disability SA to grant additionally requested funding when there is no intention to provide the service related to it?
2.Has the minister given a directive that additionally granted moneys for individual packages within Disability SA are not to be spent and, if he has given this directive, why?
3.Does the minister acknowledge that it is completely unfair, to say the least, to allocate or approve funding to a client and then not provide the services required with that funding?
The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) ( 15:15 :19 ): I thank the honourable member for her most important questions and will refer them to the Minister for Disabilities in the other place and bring back a response.
