Thursday, 15 August 2019

In reply to  Mr GRIMLEY (Western Victoria) (5 June 2019)

Ms MIKAKOS (Northern Metropolitan—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services):

I am informed that:

The Andrews Government provides a range of housing assistance options to people with disabilities, including in Western Victoria.

The Victorian Housing Register is a single pathway that helps eligible applicants with urgent needs, including those who have a disability, access both public and community housing. One of the Register’s categories is Supported Housing, which enables people with disabilities whose existing housing is highly unsuitable to be prioritised for housing assistance.

The Andrews Government has made significant investment to increase the number of public and community homes that are available to people in need, including people with disabilities. Since 2017, over $1.2 billion dollars has been committed to additional housing and homelessness support, as well as $2.1 billion in financial instruments that will boost Victoria’s supply of social housing. This investment has been bolstered by our recent $209.1 million commitment to deliver an additional 1,000 public housing properties over the next three years.

In addition, the Andrews Labor Government is investing $2.58 billion in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2019-20. As part of the NDIS, Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) will be available for NDIS participants who have very high support needs or extreme functional impairment.

Participants who are eligible for SDA receive additional funding that is designed to stimulate market investment in the development of new high-quality dwellings for use by eligible NDIS participants.

Victoria has advocated strongly and successfully for changes in the pricing framework for SDA, to help provide investors and providers with the confidence they need to develop new housing. A Review of the SDA Pricing and Payments Framework last year resulted in some significant changes.

These have created positive early indications of increased investment, which should ultimately translate into more SDA properties across Victoria, providing NDIS participants with greater choice and control over their accommodation.