Bega Valley Shire Council will run an expression of interest (EOI) process to determine if the shire’s community services market is able to support Council’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) clients.
Council’s Director of Community, Environment and Planning, Emily Harrison said the decision to go to market with an EOI process comes from recommendations in an independent review of Council’s services.
“We commission regular reviews of our funded programs to ascertain if the market or the community need has changed, and what we need to consider when running these services into the future,” Ms Harrison said.
“Our most recent Families, Ageing and Disability services review found that although we provide a high level of service to the community, Council may not be best placed to provide these services into the future and we should consider exiting the market.
“However, we would only consider this if our EOI determines our aged care and disability support clients are able to transition to other providers within the Bega Valley.
“When the NDIS was first introduced, Council had a role to play in the provision of services as there was a clear gap in the market, but now the private provider market is a lot stronger and continues to grow.
“Pending the results of the EOI, a transition plan will be developed to ensure clients receive assistance to transition to other providers and are not left without support.
“While we know some clients and their families would find a change of service provider difficult, our staff would support our clients in any transition with the aim to make the process as seamless as possible.
“We would also engage with the Department of Communities and Justice to determine whether there are other providers within the shire for our family preservation service.”
Ms Harrison said Council will also consult and work with its community services staff, with a focus on ensuring staff receive support to move to other roles within Council or with other providers where possible, if Council does withdraw from providing services in the future.
“However, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves with these plans as we need to go through our EOI process and staff consultation first and report back to a future Council meeting with the outcome of the EOI before a final decision is made.”
