Community services

In 2016‑17, the Commonwealth will provide funding of $2.6 billion to support State community services, including $1.5 billion through the National Disability SPP and $1.1 billion through National Partnership payments, as detailed in Table 2.7.

(a) Where negotiations are yet to be finalised, funding amounts are not published.

National Disability Agreement

The National Disability Agreement commits the Commonwealth and the States to strive, through the provision of disability support services, to help people with disabilities and their carers achieve an enhanced quality of life and participate as valued members of the community.

The Commonwealth is also working with the States to implement the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which will fundamentally change the nature of disability care and support in Australia. When the NDIS reaches full scheme in a State, the National Disability SPP will be redirected to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) which will be responsible for administering the NDIS in that State.

Ongoing arrangements for the National Disability SPP for Western Australia are being considered through negotiations on disability reform in Western Australia.

(a) A zero entitlement to National Disability SPP funding indicates that the NDIS has been fully rolled out in that State.

The National Disability SPP is the funding associated with the National Disability Agreement. The Commonwealth is providing funding to the States under this National SPP to support disability services.

The Intergovernmental Agreement defines the growth factor for the National Disability SPP as the rolling five year average of year‑on‑year growth in nominal Gross Domestic Product. The growth factor for the National Disability SPP is estimated to be 3.3 per cent in 2016‑17.

A measure associated with the NDIS is discussed in Budget Paper No. 2, Budget Measures 2016‑17.

National Partnership payments for community services

In addition to the National Disability SPP, the Commonwealth will provide funding through National Partnerships as detailed below.

The Commonwealth is providing funding for the National Partnership on assisting preparation towards the trial of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. In recognition of its unique circumstances, the funding is assisting Tasmania in the transition to the new operating environment under the NDIS.

(a) Funding for 2018‑19 onwards is provisioned for in the Contingency Reserve subject to negotiations.

The Commonwealth is providing funding to Western Australia to continue the joint Commonwealth‑State Home and Community Care programme. This programme provides funding for basic community care services that support older people, younger people with a disability, and their carers to remain living in their own home and communities.

As part of the transition to the NDIS, the Commonwealth and Victoria have agreed to transition home and community care responsibilities for older people to the Commonwealth from 1 July 2016. Discussions between Western Australia and the Commonwealth on transitioning responsibilities are ongoing.

A new spending measure associated with the Home and Community Care programme in Western Australia is discussed in Budget Paper No. 2, Budget Measures 2016‑17.

The Commonwealth is providing funding for the National Partnership on the National Occasional Care Programme. This National Partnership will support non Child Care Benefit approved occasional child care service providers, particularly in rural, regional and remote areas.

The Commonwealth will provide funding for the National Partnership on National Outcome Standards for Perpetrator Interventions. This National Partnership will support the development and implementation of a national reporting and accountability framework including performance indicators.

National Partnership on Northern Territory remote Aboriginal investment

The Commonwealth is providing funding for the National Partnership on Northern Territory remote Aboriginal investment. This continues the Commonwealth's investment under the National Partnership on Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory to address Indigenous disadvantage.

The National Partnership will support the Northern Territory in taking practical action to improve the lives of Aboriginal people through activities and services to improve outcomes in schooling, community safety, health and housing, and create job opportunities for adults.

This National Partnership is discussed further in the Health, Education and Affordable Housing sections of this Part.

The Commonwealth will provide funding to the Northern Territory to support delivery of services and initiatives to make communities safer, including those that improve child safety and combat alcohol abuse.

The Commonwealth has provided funding to assist the Northern Territory to take responsibility for the ongoing delivery of municipal and essential services in Indigenous communities.

(a) Some State entitlements do not include NDIS offset amounts.

The Commonwealth is providing funding for the National Partnership on pay equity for the social and community services sector. This National Partnership funds the Commonwealth's share of the wage increases arising from Fair Work Australia's decision on 1 February 2012 to grant an Equal Remuneration Order in the Social and Community Services sector.

The Commonwealth's commitment includes providing funding for its share of the wage increases for in‑scope programmes funded through existing National SPPs and National Partnership agreements.

(a) State allocations are indicative estimates only.

(b) As Western Australia has not yet agreed to full implementation of the NDIS, funding is not published. A funding allocation of $8.9 million for 2015‑16, $10.8 million for 2016‑17, $52.4 million for 2017‑18, $388.5 million for 2018‑19, and $102.0 million for 2019‑20 is set aside should Western Australia agree to the offer.

The Commonwealth will provide funding through the National Partnership on payments from the DisabilityCare Australia Fund, to reimburse the States for their NDIS expenditure, once an agreement on drawdown arrangements is reached.

A proportion of the funding going to the DisabilityCare Australia Fund, which came into effect on 1 July 2014, will be allocated to the States over a 10 year period. The annual amount set aside for the States will be $883.8 million in 2016‑17, which will grow in future years by 3.5 per cent per year.

Negotiations are continuing with the States on drawdown arrangements.

A measure associated with the NDIS is discussed in Budget Paper No. 2, Budget Measures 2016‑17.

The Commonwealth is providing funding for specialist disability services for people aged 65 years and over (50 years and over for Indigenous Australians), in participating States. This funding will be provided to participating States, through individual Bilateral Agreements for the transition to a National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Once the NDIS reaches full scheme in a State, funding will be redirected to the Commonwealth Department of Health through the implementation of a new Commonwealth Continuity of Support programme.

Discussions are continuing between Western Australia and the Commonwealth regarding the transition of roles and responsibilities for aged care and disability services.

A measure associated with the NDIS is discussed in Budget Paper No. 2, Budget Measures 2016‑17.

The Commonwealth is providing funding for the National Partnership for the trial of Western Australia NDIS sites. This National Partnership assists Western Australia with the trial of NDIS sites which run in parallel with NDIA trial sites in Western Australia. The merits of each trial site will be evaluated during the trial period to inform the delivery of disability reform.

Additional funding has been provided in 2016‑17 to extend the current trials in the Lower South West and Cockburn/Kwinana regions from 1 July 2016 and an expansion in several neighbouring Local Government Areas from 1 October 2016. These sites run in parallel with the NDIA trial sites for one year from 1 July 2016, with the trial site in the Perth Hills region also expanding into several neighbouring Local Government Areas from 1 January 2017. Together the trials in Western Australia will provide support to around 11, 300 eligible participants in 2016‑17.

New spending measures associated with the trial of Western Australia NDIS sites is discussed in Budget Paper No. 2, Budget Measures 2016‑17.