Question On Notice No. 1688 asked in the Legislative Council on 11 October 2018 by Hon Martin Aldridge
Question Directed to the: Minister for Regional Development
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Tabled Paper No: 2201-
View tabled paper
Question
I refer to the Minister's media statement of 10 August 2018 titled 'Community Resource Centre funding to continue', and I ask:
(a) will the Minister please provide the amount of funding that will be allocated to each Community Resource Centre (CRC) from 1 July 2019;
(b) will the Minister please provide the amount of funding allocated to each CRC in the following financial years:
(i) 2016-17;
(ii) 2017-18; and
(iii) 2018-19;
(c) will the Minister please detail the process that will be followed in determining and allocating funds to each CRC;
(d) will the Minister please provide details of how the Minister intends to strengthen CRC traineeship opportunities;
(e) will the Minister please detail how the Minister intends to provide traineeship opportunities in areas where there is not a CRC; and
(f) to what extent will the $13 million in annual funding to existing CRC's be reduced to provide for these additional traineeship opportunities in locations without a CRC?
Answered on 20 November 2018
a) [See Tabled Paper No. ]
b) (i) –(iii) [See Tabled Paper No. ]
c) Most Community Resource Centres (CRCs) are funded through community services contracts. The value of these contracts were determined by providing a base payment and then using a number of demographic indicators to allocate additional funds in locations of greater need. This process has been in place since 2014.
d) and e) The Traineeship component of the program will be strengthened to ensure CRCs are working with local businesses and local governments to get the best outcomes for their trainees, and will also be made available to regional areas which do not have a CRC.
The current trainee grant program will be relaunched as the Regional Community Traineeship program with both CRCs and Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in small regional communities eligible to apply.
The program will be undertaken by competitive annual funding rounds.
Eligible LGAs must be located within a Regional Development Commission area and not have a CRC located within its boundary.
CRCs and/or LGAs will be encouraged to collaborate and work with other Not for Profit and/or local business to expand the trainees experience of working environments, to increase their future employability and skills.
The competitive funding round will consider:
- Variety in vocational training which is relevant to job opportunities in the local area (eg. preference for a certificate in horticulture in horticulture areas).
- Stakeholder engagement and research into the development of skills for emerging skill requirements for the local community.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is finalising the program grant application process and guidelines.
f) The annual budget of $2 million has been allocated to the traineeship program, this is consistent with the budget in recent years.