The Hon Bill Shorten MP
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Minister for Government Services
The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP
Minister for Social Services
Member for Kingston
The Government has provided more than $31 million to 26 experienced organisations under the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program to support valuable and important community-based capacity building activities for people with disability, their families and carers.
Funding of $11.1 million has been provided to 22 community-based organisations to enable them to deliver activities in 2024-25 under the Individual Capacity Building or Social and Community Participation streams, to deliver important capacity building activities and support for people with disability in the lead up to the establishment of Foundational Supports next year.
New grant funding will also support the Disability Dialogue, an Early Childhood Outreach Initiative targeted at First Nations Children and their families, and the continued development and translation of best practice resources for Autism.
Minister for National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill Shorten said this latest funding under the ILC program expands its important work to build the capacity of Australians with disability and those that support them to better foster inclusion and connection.
"The 22 community-based organisations and the work that they do are critical to people with disability, their families and the local communities they operate in - this funding ensures they can continue to deliver capacity building supports ahead of the Foundational Supports reforms commencing," Minister Shorten said.
"We want to create a platform - Disability Dialogue - for genuine dialogue that is led by people with disability, who can use their lived experience to help government prioritise and deliver disability reform.
"This funding means that the community won't need to wait to be asked to participate in consultation and for the first time, it's the other way around where the community has the resources to drive the disability policy agenda. This is a unique new approach that future proofs the involvement of the disability in the heart of policy making.
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said this funding boost is yet another example of the work being done under Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-31 to improve inclusion and outcomes for Australians with disability, including those from First Nations communities.
SNAICC - National Voice for our Children and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) will both receive funding to support First Nations children with disability and developmental delay, their families, as well as the early childhood education and care workforce.
"We are thrilled to be working with SNAICC and NACCHO on improving inclusion and support for First Nations children with disability, which is a key focus of several Government initiatives in addition to Australia's Disability Strategy - like our Early Years Strategy and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap," Minister Rishworth said.
"These projects will generate new best practice resources and training for the First Nations early childhood and health sectors so that families can be effectively supported and informed and children can be identified and connected to supports sooner."
As part of these grants, Autism CRC will receive funding to enable it to expand and further distribute and embed resources on evidence-based best practice, in addition to developing and trialling new capacity-building programs and resources for the health, education and employment sectors.
The ILC program provides funding to organisations to deliver projects in the community that benefit all Australians with disability, their carers and families.
These projects create connections between people with disability and the communities they live in, and aim to build the knowledge, skills and confidence of people with disability, and improve their access to community and mainstream services.
Additional information
This new grant funding includes:
Capacity Building Activities
22 community-based organisations will receive a combined $11.1 million to continue delivering activities under the Individual Capacity Building or Social and Community Participation streams, to ensure the continuation of capacity and support for people with disability ahead of Foundational Supports commencing.
The community-based organisations sharing the $11.1 million are:
- Autism Northern Territory
- Belonging Matters
- Brain Injury Association of Tasmania
- Community Disability Alliance Hunter
- Community Resource Unit
- Deafblind West Australians
- Developmental Disability Council of Western Australia
- Disability Voices Tasmania
- Down Syndrome Association of New South Wales
- Down Syndrome Association of Victoria
- Fitzroy Legal Service
- Imagine More
- Julia Farr Association
- Kindred Community
- Muscular Dystrophy Association of New South Wales
- Parent to Parent Association Queensland
- South West Autism Network
- The Growing Space
- Institute for Family Advocacy & Leadership Development Incorporated
- Valued Lives Foundation
- Women with Disabilities Victoria
- Yellow Ladybugs
Disability Dialogue
Disability Advocacy Network Australia, together with its partners Inclusion Australia, Alliance 20 and Melbourne Disability Institute will receive $10 million over four years under the Individual Capacity Building stream for the Disability Dialogue project.
The Disability Dialogue is about building the capacity and skills of people with disability and amplifying the voice of those most marginalised - including First Nations people and people with an intellectual disability.
Led by people with disability, the Disability Dialogue is about using lived experience to help government identify and prioritise disability reform projects. Providing funding over four years means that the disability won't wait to be asked to participate in consultation. For the first time, it's the other way around where the community has been given the resources to drive the disability policy agenda. This is a unique new approach.
The Disability Dialogue is about creating strong partnerships that are being built to last and developing practical solutions to long-standing problems. Over time, it will also help shape the next generation of leaders from the sector.
Early Childhood Outreach Initiative
The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), in partnership with First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN), will receive up to $2.94 million to increase the capacity of the First Nations early childhood education and care workforce to support children with disability and developmental delay.
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) will receive up to $1.27 million to support Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) improve First Nations families' understanding of disability and developmental delay.
The funding will also support the sector to make best use of the ASQ-TRAK screening tool, used to monitor the developmental progress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Autism CRC resources
Autism CRC will receive an additional $6 million under the Mainstream Capacity Building stream to further develop its best practice resources and capacity building projects for mainstream services engaging with people with disability.
Autism CRC's resources improve the knowledge and capacity of mainstream service providers in assessment and diagnosis, early intervention, inclusive education, employment, health and wellbeing, and assist Autistic individuals and their families and carers to make informed decisions about services and supports.
