Tasmanian disability providers have expressed concern over the future of their services with the state government yet to commit to continuing their funding into the new financial year.
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State funding to 18 disability organisations will cease at the end of June, as part of the transition to the federally funded National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The state government has secured $570,000 through the NDIS to help these services transition, however, National Disability Services state manager Will Kestin said this money was not nearly enough.
"It goes nowhere near the funding they were receiving and it's not going to keep their doors open," Mr Kestin said.
The government directed impacted organisations to apply for Information Linkages and Capacity Building grants late last year.
Mr Kestin said some services, such as Epilepsy Tasmania, will not be eligible to apply for this funding because epilepsy is classified as a health issue and is not considered a disability.
"There's quite a cross-section of organisations that could apply for ILC funding, but the state still has a responsibility to fund organisations, even if they do quality for ILC funding, as part of the bilateral agreement," Mr Kestin said.
"There is nothing in the arrangements of the NDIS that gives state governments permission to remove those services."
Labor disability spokesperson Jo Siejka said there is no guarantee these organisations would receive sufficient or any funds if they are successful through the ILC grant program.
"It's scary that in less than two months there will be a lot of people without the services they need," Ms Siejka said.
"One in four people in Tasmania are affected by a disability, the highest in the country, but only just over 10,000 people are eligible for the criteria of the NDIS.
"90,000 Tasmanians aren't eligible for the NDIS and their only option for support is to rely on services funded by the Tasmanian government."
Already underfunded
Tasmania Amputee Society vice president Timothy Marks said the service was run by volunteers across the state, with himself financed by his disability pensions.
"The state funding that we receive at the moment is only enough to keep the book work up - not the people that actually go out and meet the clients," Mr Marks said.
"It doesn't matter if its a finger, arm or leg off, if people have had an amputation they contact us. In the south of the state, I go out, have a chat to them and help them through the transition."
Mr Marks said the NDIS funding was for specific programs, not general on-the-ground support.
"With the NDIS funding they need to fund us for what we do now, not for specific programs," he said.
"Going to someone's house and seeing them about being amputated is not classified as a program, so I've still got to fund that out of my own pocket."
Flawed grant process
Technical Aid to the Disabled executive officer Paul Duncombe said the processes the NDIS uses to determine funding, which requires the applicant to provide an estimate cost for the proposed service, do not work for TADTas.
"We aim to make aids for people with disabilities that aren't available commercially. Or, if they are available commercially and they are not quite right, we can tinker with them and make them right for that individual," Mr Duncombe said.
"We don't even know where we are going to start, so how will we be able to get the money?"
Mr Duncombe said TADTas is also reliant on the work of volunteers with technical skills who put together innovative aids that match the individual need of each client.
Call for certainty
Autism Tasmania chief executive Terry Burke said it is not fair to say there are no provisions in the NDIS for organisations like his, however, there is not funding opportunities for all groups.
"We have had 30 per cent of our funding rolled for a year but the state funding, our major funding, just stops," Mr Burke said.
"There is potential for us to go to ILC but there are a lot of national players."
Mr Burke said the money that the government would need to sustain the impacted disability groups is "not huge dollars," with Autism Tasmania running two offices with a current state contribution of $230,000.
"If they had rolled it, even just to December, it would give some certainty in the meantime," Mr Burke said.
"You can't walk away from your disability obligations by just saying the disability funding is up to the NDIS.
"I am here to support the call for that sort of certainty."
NDIS 'once-in-a-lifetime' reform
Disabilities minister Jacquie Petrusma said Tasmanian disability services would have access to a larger pool of funding though the NDIS than previously available under the state-administered funding model.
"The NDIS is once-in-a-lifetime national reform that will give people with disability greater choice and control," Ms Petrusma said.
"We are playing our part in the full roll-out of the NDIS in line with the Bilateral Agreements to ensure Tasmania's move to the full scheme is a success.
"A number of Tasmanian ILC organisations have already been successful in securing a collective total of over $1 million in Linkages and Capacity Building Grants, with another $51 million round currently open.
"Tasmanian ILC type organisations are able to apply for grants from $300,000 under this funding stream, with no upper limit.
"Organisations such as the Brain Injury Association of Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Amputee Society have already secured substantially more funding through the NDIS ILC funding than previously available under the State Government, and have the opportunity to secure even more funds through another four grant rounds to come this year."
Ms Petrusma said the government will continue to monitor the ILC program roll-out in the coming months and will work to ensure there is an orderly transition from state-based funding to the ILC grant program.
"If the amount of bridging funding is not sufficient, we will again be negotiating with the National Disability Insurance Agency and the Australian government for further funding," Ms Petrusma said.