A few weeks ago Connect joined with other Sydney based community transport organisations to raise awareness of changes to aged care funding through the proposed ‘Support at Home’ program.
This was the ‘Convoy to Cook.’ Take a look at the video – it’s a cracker!
You can view more photos below.What you should know.
The ‘Support at Home’ program has been under development for a couple of years now, with a planned introduction from 1 July 2023. It is intended to replace the Commonwealth Home Support Program CHSP (most of Connect clients fall under this scheme), Home Care Packages and the Short – Term Restorative Care Program.
Essentially the Support at Home Program is a ‘fee for service’ model. Clients are preapproved for certain services, say 5 trips per month. Provider delivers a service, perhaps in our case a trip to the shops, then at the end of the month a nationally standard payment is claimed by the service deliverer. On proposed prices this is 5.5% less than what we get now. An activity, rather than foundational (or block) funding model, will in our view see the end of community transport services as we know it.
What happens under the new government remains to be seen but, it’s worth noting, the then Opposition Leader and now Prime Minister (and Connect’s local member), The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, wrote to Connect to advise the ALP has seen no evidence to support a change to the CHSP funding model which they regard as working well (and so do we). Let’s hope that view continues.
The NSW Government through TfNSW administers CHSP funding for community transport.
On Friday, TfNSW told us what the transition work on the Support at Home program to date means to us financially from 1 July 2022. Put simply we have to do more with less. Our contracted trip CHSP output has been raised by 7.5% while our funding has been raised by only 1.5%.
Inflation is running at 5% now and the Reserve Bank expects it to be at 7% come Christmas. Today we heard that our staff wages will rise by 4.6% from 1 July 2022. Diesel fuel costs have risen by over 50% since January 2022. While our recent move lowered our base leasing costs, as an inner-city provider, they still rise by almost 4% per annum.
It’s not just the Commonwealth government who has cut real funding. The NSW Government has joined in with a 2% increase in its Community Transport Program scheme, again not meeting higher operating costs.
Put this all together and Connect has a real cut in funding of between 5- 10 % in the 2022 – 2023 financial year.
What you can do.
I ask valued clients and supporters to express your support for adequately funded community transport services with your local members, Federal and State.
Connect’s operating area falls mainly within Grayndler represented by The Hon Anthony Albanese, MP, but also within Barton represented The Hon Linda Burney, MP.
Our state members are Jo Haylen, MP Member for Summer Hill; Jenny Leong, MP Member for Newtown; and Jamie Parker, Member for Balmain.
Thank you for your support.
Brett Andrews
General Manager
