No concern over delay to kids’ autism program, says PM
Andrew Brown and John Kidman |
The delay of an early intervention program for children linked to National Disability Insurance Scheme costs isn’t a mark of uncertainty, Anthony Albanese insists.
State and territory leaders have agreed to help limit annual growth of the NDIS to six per cent in exchange for an extra $25 billion in Commonwealth funding for public hospitals over the next five years.
However, a program to move children with mild to moderate levels of autism off the NDIS and into state-based programs has been delayed by several months to give jurisdictions more time to adjust to changes.
The $2 billion Thriving Kids program was due to begin in July but will now start in October and be fully implemented by early 2028, the prime minister said on Friday.
“The states put to us the possibility of a short delay in the full implementation of Thriving Kids,” he said in Sydney.
“We agreed that proposal was reasonable, that we get this right, and so it is a positive move.”
Pressed on Saturday morning over whether the delay would add to uncertainty about the program, Mr Albanese rebuffed the suggestion.
“No, not at all,” he told reporters in Adelaide.
“We’re making sure we get it right. It’ll be rolled out from this year and we’ll be fully rolled out, fully implemented, on the 1st of January 2028.
“That’s what good governments do. Good governments get the detail right.”
State leaders had previously said they were blindsided by NDIS Minister Mark Butler’s announcement of the Thriving Kids scheme in 2025 during a speech at the National Press Club.
Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said the delay to Thriving Kids was concerning.
“Young Australians living with a disability and their families remain in ongoing uncertainty due to the complete lack of clarity and detail around the new Thriving Kids program,” she said.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said jurisdictions would increase their share of contributions for the NDIS over the next five years.
“Two billion dollars will be matched to deliver Thriving Kids as the first phase of foundational supports, with the Commonwealth providing $1.4 billion of its contribution to support states,” he said.
Despite the extra $25 billion secured by the states in return for their co-operation on NDIS spending, Doctors Reform Society president Tim Woodruff said public hospital patients would keep languishing on wait lists.
“It’s all about smoke and mirrors,” he said on Saturday.
“Of course it’s a record spend. Any new spending will be a record because our population is growing, it is ageing and demand is increasing.
“What we really want to know is whether this new spending increases the federal contribution up towards the 50 per cent level it was set at decades ago.”
AAP
