Non-government health sector organisations will receive $1.65 million in additional funding from the ACT Government – a one-off boost to community organisations facing financial pressures due to increased costs or service demand, health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.
“Many organisations that support Canberrans are facing cost pressures and seeing growing demand for their services,” Ms Stephen-Smith said. “This funding boost recognises these challenges and will support the ongoing delivery of vital services over the next year.
“The ACT Government has been working with a range of organisations to better understand their individual circumstances and concerns over the past few months. This one-off funding will meet their immediate needs as we continue to engage with the wider sector on the findings of previous reports and recommendations.”
However, the Canberra Liberals suggest that the announcement is a stopgap measure that offers only short-term relief, and a tactic to appease voters in an election year without addressing the underlying issues.
Organisations receiving funding include:
- Arthritis ACT
- Asthma ACT
- Australian Breastfeeding Association
- Capital Region Cancer Relief
- Companion House
- Diabetes Australia
- Directions Health Care
- Epilepsy ACT
- Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation
- Haemophilia Foundation
- Interchange Health Co-op
- KidSafe ACT
- MSI Australia
- Palliative Care ACT
- RSI Overuse Foundation
- Women’s Health Matters
This package also includes more funding for the Community Assistance and Temporary Supports (CATS) Program, which provides support for people experiencing difficulties with daily living due to a short-term health issue, illness or injury.
Organisations included in funding for CATS include:
- ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service (ADACAS)
- Anglicare
- Capital Region Community Services
- Carers ACT
- Community Services #1
- Life without Barriers
- Northside Community Services
In addition, $350,000 has been allocated to ensure continuity of gym services at the Chifley Health and Wellbeing Centre after the YMCA closed the service in April. Since then, the ACT Government has tried to find a new service provider. The government is in discussions with the preferred providers, and expects to announce a new service provider shortly. This funding allocation will ensure the new provider can re-establish the service as quickly as possible, Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“The ACT Government continues to invest in commissioning processes across health and community services sectors to better understand community needs, as well as the costs involved in delivering services to the community and the cost pressures experienced by the NGO sector in the ACT,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“The Government remains committed to working with the community sector and consumers to ensure services are commissioned in a way that meets the needs of our community and delivers a sustainable outcome.”
However, Canberra Liberals MLA Leanne Castley, Shadow Minister for Families, Youth and Community Services, said: “While I welcome the funding commitment and acknowledge that it will genuinely make a difference to on the ground health service delivery for Canberrans, this is merely kicking the can down the road, and shows that the Labor-Greens government can’t be trusted to ensure that these organisations have any sort of certainty going forward. Rather, they need to beg and plead to continue operations.
“Some of these organisations have been on rolling contracts for more than 10 years without any increase in funding, nor certainty. I can only imagine that while many are breathing a sigh of relief at today’s stop gap decision, this is only a temporary respite; and unless this government learns to adequately manage the underlying pressures these organisations face, then it is simply a tactic to get them temporarily through in an election year.”
