NATIONAL DISABILITY
INSURANCE SCHEME — WARRICK PROUDLOVE
1190. Hon PETER COLLIER to the Minister for Disability Services:
I refer the minister to the tragic
case of Warrick Proudlove and the horrific injuries he suffered as a result of
an accident in 2011.
(1) Is Warrick eligible for the
National Disability Insurance Scheme; and, if not, why not?
(2) Is Warrick
eligible for any other government assistance; and, if yes, has he been
receiving this assistance; and, if no, why not?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the Leader of the Opposition
for the question.
(1)–(2) As
the Leader of the Opposition said in his question, Warrick Proudlove's
case is indeed tragic. He had a terrible accident in 2011. During the time of
the last government, Warrick and his family campaigned very strongly to get the
laws in Western Australia changed. Of course, those changes were made in 2016
by the former Liberal–National government and had cross-partisan
support because we recognised that we needed to change the system in Western Australia
for no-fault accident insurance.
In Warrick's case, I am
advised that he has received confirmation from the National Disability
Insurance Scheme that his access request was successful a few weeks ago. I understand
that he now has a booking to commence the planning process with the National
Disability Insurance Scheme. The date for that meeting is early November. In
the meantime, Warrick has been accessing what was the Department of Communities
disability services support. Warrick receives an annual package of about $215 000,
which is a sizeable package known as individualised accommodation support
funding. That support provides Warrick and his family with overnight in-home
support and a personal assistant to attend to his personal care needs and help
him access the community. Certainly, I have asked my department to reach out to
the family during the period of transition from the state scheme to the
National Disability Insurance Scheme to see whether any additional support
needs can be met during that time.
Hon Peter Collier: He won't
be worse off, will he?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON: No.
Certainly, as part of the transition across to the national scheme, people who
have plans under the state will have those plans honoured for 12 months. We
will go through a planning process, but certainly I see Warrick continuing to
have the same services once he transitions across to the national scheme.