Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has decided to transition out of the Home and Community Care Program for Younger People (HACC PYP).
This decision has been made in response to significant national reforms in the aged and disability sector, coupled with ongoing decline in demand for the Shire's in home disability care services.
The ongoing reforms, including the introduction of the NDIS, have had significant impacts on the ability of local governments to provide in home disability services on behalf of the State Government. These impacts include increasing service delivery costs and inadequate funding levels for council-provided services.
Demand for the Shire's in home disability services continues to decline due to an increase in the complexity of client needs. This has resulted in residents with complex needs seeking out other service providers who can better meet their needs.
As a result, Council made the decision on 30 April 2024 to stop providing the state government's HACC PYP beyond 31 December 2024. The Victorian Government will now appoint a new specialist disability provider to deliver these services across the Peninsula. The services are not being privatised by Council.
We will work with the Department of Health to ensure all current clients are supported to transition to a new service provider. This change will affect 153 people who currently receive these services through the Shire.
To ensure the transition is seamless, the Shire will be appointing two new Community Connector roles to provide a trusted single point of contact for residents to support them in navigating the complex disability system and connect them with services, supports and programs.
The services that will be ceasing are those for residents aged 64 and under, or 49 and under for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents, and include:
- domestic assistance
- personal care
- shopping
- respite care
- home maintenance
- Meals on Wheels (the Shire-wide program will continue unchanged)
- community transport (the Shire-wide program will continue unchanged).
The Victorian Government will select and appoint a new provider to deliver these services on the Mornington Peninsula. The Shire will continue to deliver services to clients until the new provider is in place and operating at full capacity, or until 31 December 2024.
Council will continue to provide Meals on Wheels and community transport services to residents aged 65 and over, or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents, who are eligible for Commonwealth Home Support Program services.
We have written to each of the 153 clients impacted by these changes. We will keep them up to date throughout the process and ensure they have a smooth transition to their new provider.
