In announcing the 2022-23 ACT Budget, Chief Minister Andrew Barr stated that the government has prioritised investment in healthcare, infrastructure and services for a growing population. Canberra is now the fastest growing jurisdiction in the country with a population of 455,000.

Disability strategy

Work is continuing to develop the ACT Disability Strategy. Extensive community consultation was conducted between March and July 2022 with a ‘Listening Report’ due to be released towards the end of the year.

The final, ten-year strategy and First Action Plan will be launched in 2023. There is no additional funding in this budget for the work, however, we will seek advice during the next budget cycle as to how this work will be funded in the future.

Work is also being undertaken to develop a Second Action Plan for the Disability Justice Strategy which aims to achieve equity and inclusion for people with a disability in the justice system.

Funding is also included for the continued development of an ACT Disability Health Strategy that aims to improve health outcomes for people with a disability their families and carers.

Funding for Carers 

The budget provides funding to further support the ACT Carers Strategy 2018-2028 to improve supports and outcomes for carers. This includes funding for community-based initiatives, awareness-raising activities, support groups, and resources for the Carers Strategy Governance Group.

Social recovery framework

The government will fund the development of a Social Recovery Framework that seeks to better understand priorities for individuals and the community sector for social recovery following disasters. People with a disability, their families and carers face increased risks both during and post disasters as seen through the bushfires and, more recently, the pandemic.

This work will hopefully address some of the issues facing our sector and provide a better framework for future planning.

Maintenance and more public housing

The budget provides an additional investment of $57 million to increase public housing repairs and maintenance, including disability modifications. Access to affordable and well-maintained properties is an ongoing issue for people with a disability and providers and this continued investment is welcome.

The government will also expand the Growing and Renewing Public Housing program by a further 140 public housing dwellings in 2022-23 and will also invest in increasing the number of Build-to-Rent opportunities.

NDS will continue to liaise with the health, housing and community services directorates to ascertain further details.