Community services

The Coalition Government is committed to providing vulnerable Victorians with the support and care they need. Our plans are about ensuring that we have effective, efficient and responsive community services to provide the comprehensive solutions that people and families require.

A key means of achieving this goal is to reform the way services are delivered. Under Labor, services were delivered with a silo-based approach. We know that many families and individuals need access to a range of services such as disability, housing, child protection and mental health support. The Coalition Government is looking to reform case management to ensure people can access the range of supports they need. We intend to knock down the bureaucratic barriers that prevent services from working together for the benefit of vulnerable Victorians. Trials to test new approaches to service delivery will commence before the end of 2011.

Child protection has been in crisis for some time. A comprehensive inquiry, led by a retired Supreme Court judge, is well underway. The inquiry has conducted 18 public sittings, received 200 written submissions and undertaken more than 100 other meetings and visits. It will provide recommendations for change and provide a reform agenda for the future.

But in terms of Child Protection, the Coalition Government is not waiting to get started. In the 2011-12 Victorian Budget we committed $98 million to help transform the child protection workforce and services, including funding to immediately begin recruiting 47 new full-time child protection staff, more early intervention programs and more support services for young people in out-of-home care to assist their effective transition to independent living. .

Disability services in Victoria need to undergo fundamental change so that people with a disability and their families and carers have the lifetime support they need. The Coalition Government is driving the implementation of a new National Disability Insurance Scheme to make this a reality.

We recognise and value the important role families and carers play in the treatment and support of the person they care for, and we will continue to invest in supported accommodation and respite options for people with disabilities.

The Coalition's new 17.5 per cent year-round electricity concession is easing the pressure on over 800,000 Victorian households who are struggling to meet the rising cost of living. The $382 million plan to ease the cost of electricity all-year round is assisting aged pensioners, sole parents and people with disabilities cover their basic costs of living.

Achievements and policies implemented in the first year of Coalition Government

Cost of living

• Provided 840,000 Victorian families with the benefits of year-round electricity concessions and an increased water and sewerage concession cap to keep pace with increasing costs and benefit families

Child protection

• Launched a comprehensive inquiry into Victoria's child protection system to recommend how the protection and support of vulnerable young Victorians can be improved
• Invested $98 million for child protection improvements, including 47 new staff

Community sector

• Reduced red tape and bureaucracy for charities and community sector organisations by replacing four standards with one

Disability services

• Took the lead on an announcement out of COAG that the Federal Government, Victoria and other states will work towards a National Disability Insurance Scheme that will provide greater choice for people living with a disability
• Formed an NDIS Taskforce to advise Victoria on the best path towards a National Disability Insurance Scheme
• Invested $92.7 million in disability funding to improve access to services for Victorians living with a disability, their families and carers
• Introduced extra funding for disability aids and equipment for disabled children
• Funded breast screening and pap smears to assist in the prevention of cancer for women with disabilities
• Called for ideas for innovative models of disability care
• Provided more school holiday respite services for families with children with disabilities

Youth justice

• Passed new laws to improve security at Youth Justice Centres
• Work underway on a new single entry point to the Parkville Youth Justice Centre

Flood recovery

• Paid more than $20 million in support payments to over 11,000 Victorian families affected by floods
• Established flood recovery centres in Kerang, Narre Warren and Charlton

Women's affairs

• Participated in new initiative with the Australian Institute of Company Directors to promote women in leadership positions
• Promoted anti-violence measures such as a toolkit for sporting clubs
• Demonstrated leadership by signing up MPs as White Ribbon Ambassadors to say no to violence against women and children

Youth affairs

• Delivered on election commitment to invest $4 million over four years to upgrade Scouts Victoria and Girl Guides Victoria facilities across the state and an additional $440,000 to upgrade the Scouts activity centre
• Restored funding to the Rock Eisteddfod
• Delivered on election commitment to provide $200,000 to youth-led Student Youth Network (SYN) radio station and $200,000 over four years to the rural radio Be Heard! Initiative which will improve training and mentoring for young people in regional Victoria

Veterans' affairs

• Confirmed our commitment to work with ex-service organisations, the veteran community and the wider Victorian community to ensure the legacy and sacrifice of our veterans is both preserved and passed on to future generations
• Started preparations for the forthcoming Centenary of ANZAC by announcing $2.13 million as part of the 2011–12 Victorian Budget towards initiatives that honour and pay tribute to the ANZACs and their legacy
• Upgraded the website of the Shrine of Remembrance and funded the next stage of the Seymour Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk
• Expanded the Premier's Spirit of ANZAC Prize to ensure 17 regional finalists get a free Canberra study tour to visit the Australian War Memorial, Parliament House and other national institutions, in addition to the10 students who will be selected to travel overseas
• Delivered $1 million of funding to continue the Restoring Community War Memorials Grants Program and extra funding to the RSL to help it support the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance and the ANZAC Day March commemorations in Melbourne

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