The provision of effective support to people with disabilities is critical to helping them to achieve a meaningful quality of life. A review of Tasmanian Disability Services was announced by the (then) Minister for Health and Human Services, the Honourable Lara Giddings, in July 2007 and was completed in June 2008. The community participated in the review process by way of face-to-face regional forums and written comments. The contributions of community members helped to make the review a successful and positive process. A frank and forward-looking report was produced by KPMG, the consultants engaged to conduct the review and all recommendations were accepted by Government. The report has been widely disseminated to staff and sector organisations and has been positively received. A three year action plan to reform disability services provision has begun.
Major reforms to Disability Services will take place from 2008-09 onwards to improve access to services for people with disabilities. As a result of these reforms there will be a substantially increased capacity to meet unmet demand for services. Implementation of review recommendations will see the establishment of clear shared governance arrangements to oversee disability services at a statewide and regional level.
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