Council marks time for disability services

The roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Service in Baw Baw Shire from October is causing council to mark time on its future provision of services for people with disabilities.

Acting director corporate and community services Malcolm Lewis said council hadn’t yet made a decision.

It is considering its options and whether it should register as a service provider with the NDIS, he said.

Baw Baw Shire supports people with disabilities in a number of ways, primarily through its Home and Community Care program.

Mr Lewis pointed out council was not a specialist provider of disability services but had historically responded to gaps in services.

“It is likely that organisations specialising in disability services and support will grow under the NDI Agency and that, in the longer term, there will be a wider range of services and options available to people”.

Council is committed to ensure the move to the NDIS is as smooth as possible for residents with disabilities, he said.

Mr Lewis added that council would work with the NDIA, Department of Health and Human Services and the local area co-ordinator, Latrobe Community Health Service, to ensure people have all the information they need and answers to any questions.

Baw Baw Shire Ratepayers and Citizens Association has written to council to continue to present the HACC program in a form similar to that currently in place, especially the employment of local people.

In the letter chairman Geoff Anderson said local employment and working hours that enabled co-ordination of work and family commitments and the benefits to HACC clients’ welfare were most important.

He stated the association was particularly concerned that changes could lead to the outsourcing of services to metropolitanbased organisations using staff from outside of the shire.