Today I was pleased to join with the Premier to officially open the Rowallan Park Integrated Community Facility, a supported accommodation facility for people living with disability.
The facility was set up by the Kingston Uniting Church, and can accommodate up to 12 residents, giving them a sense of independence.
One of the things that ageing parents of children with disability hope is that their children will be cared for in an environment that allows them to live as independently as possible and be cared for and nurtured.
The Kingston Uniting Church has provided such an environment and I congratulate them on this wonderful initiative.
With the State Budget back on track, we are able to reinvest in important programs to cater for Tasmania’s most vulnerable.
The support for the young people who live here are provided through local disability services group Possability with funding provided to them through the State Government and through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
I would also like to acknowledge the Federal Government’s commitment of $2.8 million through the SAIF program for the Rowallan Park project.
The NDIS gives people with disability – and their families – the ability to participate in the broader community, and achieve their goals and aspirations. This really is a life-changing reform.
The Tasmanian Government is proud to be able to contribute to the NDIS and is providing over $570 million towards the full roll out over the next four years. Up to 2500 jobs are expected to be created to support growth in the sector beyond 2020.
With the full roll-out of the NDIS underway and set to be complete by mid-2019, around 10,600 Tasmanians are expected to benefit from this life changing reform.