Agreement between the Commonwealth and the
Western Australian Governments for disability
reform in Western Australia
This Agreement is made BETWEEN the COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
(Commonwealth) and WESTERN AUSTRALIA (Western Australia)
1.
The Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments have reached an agreement to a
two year launch in Western Australia from July 2014.
2.
The launch in Western Australia will offer people with disability and their families and carers
in launch sites the reassurance they will get the care and support they need over their
lifetimes.
3.
Under this agreement, the Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments will contrast
two approaches to the delivery of disability services in different locations.
4.
Two approaches are being tested in order to allow genuine comparison of the merits of the
national DisabilityCare Australia model and the Western Australian My Way model, and to
allow the lessons to be shared during the launch period and taken into the full scheme.
Around 8,400 eligible participants in Western Australia will benefit over the launch period.
5.
The My Way model will be implemented by the WA Disability Services Commission (WA DSC)
under State legislation with additional Commonwealth Government funding from 1 July 2014.
The sites will cover the Lower South West from July 2014 and Cockburn-Kwinana from July
2015, with preparations already underway. Around 4,100 eligible participants will be
covered by these two sites.
6.
In the My Way sites the Western Australian Government will fund the equivalent of 60 per
cent of package costs and the Commonwealth will fund the equivalent of 40 per cent of
package costs and any additional administration costs arising from the joint approach. The
Western Australian Government will cover 100 per cent of the risk of costs overruns in these
launch sites between July 2014 and July 2016.
7.
The Commonwealth will make available all of the necessary infrastructure and systems in the
My Way sites to ensure packages are consistent with those across all the DisabilityCare
Australia launch sites, including reference packages, assessment tools and IT. The Western
Australian Government will ensure consistent application of key aspects of the NDIS, including
approaches to eligibility and reasonable and necessary supports and agree an approach to
actuarial modelling and assessment.
8.
The national DisabilityCare Australia model will be implemented in the Perth Hills area
(covering the Local Government Areas of Kalamunda, Mundaring and Swan) by the
DisabilityCare Australia Agency under national governance arrangements set out in the
National Disability Insurance (NDIS) Act 2013 (the Act). Around 4,300 eligible participants will
be covered in this site.
9.
In the DisabilityCare Australia site the Commonwealth will fund the equivalent of 40 per cent
of package costs and 100 per cent of any administration costs and the Western Australian
Government will fund the equivalent of 60 per cent of package costs. The Commonwealth
will cover 100 per cent of the risk of costs overruns in these launch sites between July 2014
and July 2016.
10. The Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments are keen to ensure that the
DisabilityCare Australia model enhances and preserves the investments that Western
Australia has made in its disability sector. Both governments therefore commit to:
 establishing a local advisory panel;
 the opportunity for staff members from the WA DSC to be seconded to DisabilityCare
Australia, subject to merit-based recruitment;
 holding funding for Western Australia in a separate account;
 provision of local area coordination as an in-kind service by the WA DSC to DisabilityCare
Australia, and including Local Area Coordinators in all planning discussions where they
have an existing relationship with the participant; and
 DisabilityCare Australia using the Western Australian quality assurance system for service
providers.
11. A Joint Steering Committee will be established to oversee the progress and evaluation of the
My Way sites and the DisabilityCare launch site. It will consist of senior officials from First
Ministers’ departments, disability departments and other disability stakeholders. It will
report regularly to the Commonwealth and Western Australian disability ministers.
12. Both Governments commit to open and transparent information sharing about all aspects of
the operations in the DisabilityCare Australia site and the My Way sites. This will include
sharing data to enable ongoing actuarial assessment of the operation of both launches.
13. An independent comparative evaluation of the services and outcomes in the Western
Australian DisabilityCare Australia site and the My Way sites will be undertaken throughout
the period July 2014 – July 2016, overseen by the Joint Steering Committee, and with agreed
assessment criteria for comparing the operation of the sites. The terms of reference of the
evaluation will be agreed by the Joint Steering Committee and the Commonwealth and State
disability ministers. The costs of the evaluation will be shared equally between the
Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments. The results of this evaluation will feed
into any future disability reform in Western Australia and the legislated review of the
operation of the NDIS across Australia that is set out in the Act.
14. A bilateral agreement with further details of implementation arrangements and costs will be
agreed by November 2013.
15. The launch of DisabilityCare Australia in Western Australia will allow for the proper
assessment and comparison of the merits of the different approaches to disability services
and help determine and inform the full scheme roll-out of the scheme nationally.
16. This agreement complements the agreements to launch DisabilityCare Australia in
New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania from July 2013, and the
Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory from July 2014.
17. This agreement will be formalised by an appendix to the Intergovernmental Agreement on
the National Disability Insurance Scheme Launch agreed to by all states and territories in
December 2012.
Signed for and on behalf of the Commonwealth of
Australia by
Signed for and on behalf of Western Australia by
________________________________________
_________________________________________
The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP
The Hon Colin Barnett MLA
Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of
Australia
Premier of Western Australia
August 2013
August 2013