Premier urges Commonwealth not to withhold NDIS funds for Queensland

Media Statement

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Minister for Disability Services, Minister for Seniors and Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland
The Honourable Coralee O'Rourke

Monday, April 13, 2015

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will call on the Federal Government to pass on in full Queensland’s share of NDIS funding at a COAG meeting later this week.

Visiting Yeerongpilly-based disability services provider Montrose Access today with Disability Services Minister Coralee O'Rourke, Ms Palaszczuk said Queenslanders had been paying an extra 0.5% Medicare Levy since 1 July 2014, with every dollar quarantined into the DisabilityCare Australia Fund.
However, Queensland is estimated to receive only $201 million from the fund over the three year NDIS transition period from 2016, instead of $553 million.

“All Queensland is asking for is its fair share of this funding so we can get the NDIS up and running as quickly as possible,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The NDIS is one of the most important reforms Australia has seen since the introduction of Medicare, and we want to make sure it’s done right.

“We want to work with the Commonwealth to ensure Queenslanders’ NDIS money is passed on in full, but to this point they’ve been unwilling to enter into negotiations.

“I know the Prime Minister recognises the value of the NDIS, and I will be presenting Queensland’s case to him at COAG later this week.

“I’ll also be asking the Prime Minister to back the establishment of an early launch site in Queensland, something Campbell Newman refused to do.”

Minister O’Rourke said under the current arrangements, underfunding the NDIS during the transition could lead to challenges during the implementation of the scheme.

“If the Federal Government rations the amount of money Queensland receives in the transition period, that will mean limiting the number of Queenslanders that will have access to the NDIS in the first two years,” Ms O’Rourke said.

“Under current arrangements, we expect 13,500 people with disability to transition by the end of the first year, 31,700 by the end of the second year, then escalating to 94,600 by the end of the third year.

“Such a dramatic increase could put untold pressure on the system. If Queensland was to receive its full and fair share of funding, we could expect a more even spread across the three years of the implementation and a more orderly and manageable transition.”

Ms Palaszczuk said now was the time to reach a new agreement, with the scheme set to start on 1 July 2016.

“By 2019/2020 around 97,000 Queenslanders are expected to access the NDIS, and an additional 13,000 jobs will be needed in the sector," she said.

“This is a critical reform to ensure people with a disability have the support they have long-needed. I will continue to lobby the Prime Minister in order to see Queenslanders receive the full amount of NDIS money they are paying each year.”