Senator WEST —My question is to Senator Newman, the Minister for Family and Community Services. Does the minister recall admitting in an answer to a question from Senator Crowley in the last sitting week regarding the Continence Aids Assistance Scheme:

There have been some problems over the last year with the Continence Aids Assistance Scheme.

And:

I have been pretty dissatisfied with the arrangements that have been in place and the problems that have occurred . . .

Given that the problems with the contractor have been so serious and so longstanding, can the minister explain why the contract was extended in June this year without being put out to tender?

Senator NEWMAN (Family and Community Services; Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women) —I do not know whether I have anything up to date on that. I would be concerned if there is no update on it for you. I think the answer I have here is very much what I gave you last time, Senator. I will have a look to see whether there is anything new that I can add to that. I gave you a full and detailed answer last time, and I will certainly follow up the detail of your more recent question and see if I can get an answer back to you quickly.

Senator WEST —Madam President, I ask a supplementary question. While the minister is getting some more details, I ask: what is the state of the evaluation program which we were advised during estimates in June this year had been undertaken or commenced? There was going to be at that stage proposals put to you to determine how the next contract should go. This was four months ago. Surely something has happened since then. Also, in light of a press release from a frontbench colleague of the minister that proclaimed that inadequately managed incontinence can have a serious impact on an individual's quality of life and independence, will the minister concede that people with disabilities are entitled to a higher quality service than they are currently enduring from the government's outsourced program, and are at physical and social disadvantage as a result of the decision to bypass the tendering processes?

Senator NEWMAN (Family and Community Services; Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women) —I certainly will get back to Senator West as soon as I can about this. I know—and she would know, too—that the money under the Continence Aids Assistance Scheme does not go anywhere near providing the total needs of people with incontinence problems. I think something like $450 a year is contributed by the taxpayer to the high cost of that condition. I do know that, because of the problems earlier in the year, there was real concern about people having to buy their aids. I think I said in a letter to you, Senator—I would have thought you had got it fairly recently—that it was believed that there was no expectation that there could be reimbursement to people for moneys that they had expended because it was really a question of them bringing forward the cost that they met during the course of the year anyway and the $450 would still be available for the remainder of the year. (Time expired)