Ageing and Disability Commission unable to fulfil statutory functions due to severe underfunding

“Perilous position”: Ageing and Disability Commission unable to fulfil statutory functions due to severe underfunding.

Extraordinary evidence provided to a Budget Estimates hearing this afternoon by the Ageing and Disability Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM in response to questioning by Abigail Boyd, Greens spokesperson on Disability and Older People, has exposed the fact that the Ageing and Disability Commission has been operating at a deficit since its establishment in 2019.

Mr Fitzgerald stated that the funding received by the Commission was a cut of 60 per cent, from the initial indicative budget of $29 million over four years, cut to $13.6 million over four years when the Commission was actually established. Mr Fitzgerald stated that the Commission has never been provided with a budget sufficient to allow it to undertake its statutory functions.

He went on, “Going forward, there is an immediate cut of 25 per cent cut to the budget of the ADC at the end of this financial year, and a 40 per cent cut against anticipated demand”.

Meanwhile, statutory reporting of abuse as a result of complaints made to the Commission continues to increase, showing significant demand for their services.

Mr Fitzgerald further stated that “the financial position of the Commission is precarious and has been for some time”, and that the Commission is in a “perilous position”.

According to evidence provided by Mr Fitzgerald, for the Commission to do its job, the core of the Commission requires an additional $6.9 million over three years, and the Official Community Visitors Scheme requires $2.1 million over three years.

In response, Ms Boyd has said, “The Ageing and Disability Commission was set up just 3 years ago by a Coalition Government that was patting itself on the back for taking action to address growing incidents of abuse and neglect of older people and people with a disability. Now we discover that they were never serious about taking action, they underfunded the Commission from the beginning.

“There’s no other way to put it, the Government has set the Commission up to fail. What sort of message does this send to older people and people with disability?

“We are talking about an additional $3 million a year to allow the Commission to do its job of preventing abuse and neglect of some of the most vulnerable people in our State. But for a Coalition Government that thinks nothing of throwing $25 million at a flag pole without any concrete plans, $3 million to adequately fund a Commission as vital as this one is apparently money they just can’t find.

“Whether it’s a rejection of minimum accessibility standards, a refusal to guarantee Auslan interpretation at press conferences, a failure to meet our public transport accessibility obligations under a 20-year old National agreement, or now this, this Government shows time and time again that it doesn’t see people with disability or older people as a priority.

“The Government must now right its wrongs and commit to funding the Commission properly in line with the legislation Parliament voted on just 3 years ago.”

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

No matter who you are or what you do, everyone has the right to share in the wellbeing of our country.

But at the moment the essentials so many of us need – a place to call home, food on the table, and everyday essentials like electricity, internet, medicine and water – are simply out of reach.

Instead of supporting us, our government is choosing to prop up huge corporations with massive subsidies, and to give away our collective wealth through record tax cuts for the wealthy. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left to live paycheck to paycheck or trapped in the dehumanising bureaucracy of our existing welfare system.

Now, in the midst of a pandemic, and following quickly on the heels of the bushfire crisis, more of us than ever before are experiencing what it’s like to lose our jobs, be without a home, or worry about where the food for our next meal will come from.

It’s time for us to choose to prioritise the wellbeing of everyone.

And that’s exactly what the Universal Wellbeing Payment will do.

It’s a regular payment made to each of us to ensure our minimum standard of wellbeing. No means testing, no bureaucracy, no strings attached.

It’s the amount you’re owed simply for being a participant in our society.

It means you are free to live your life and contribute to society as you see fit, whether you’re a carer, an artist, a student, a parent, an entrepreneur – you can get on with what you need to do, knowing that you will always be supported regardless of your income.

It means that we’re choosing to structure our economy for the benefit of all of us, not using our collective wealth to prop up the interests of big business and the wealthy few.

It means you will always have what you need to live a good life, no matter what.

The Universal Wellbeing Payment is for everyone. Help us make it happen.

For more information, head to universalwellbeingpayment.com.au

3,000 signatures

Will you sign?

First Name

Last Name

Mobile phone

Home Phone

Address (Street, Suburb, State, Postcode)

Country

Join with Facebook

Join with Twitter

Ageing and Disability Commission unable to fulfil statutory functions due to severe underfunding

A UNIVERSAL WELLBEING PAYMENT FOR NSW

Will you sign?

Join the Campaign

Join 50,941 other supporters in taking action