At the 2 October 2008 meeting, COAL agreed to progress reforms to roles and responsibilities between the Commonwealth and States and Territories for community and residential care services for aged people, community care and residential care for people with disabilities, and community care and support services for people with a mental illness.

The Home and Community Care program (HACC) is one program under consideration as part of this reform agenda.

Our aim is to provide people with better services that are easier to access and which can respond more flexibly as people’s needs change.

These proposed reforms aim to create single integrated service delivery systems in each reform area.

This is so that people with disability, mental illness, or aged Australians, have to deal with only one access point getting the services they need.

This will reduce confusion, buck passing, and better integrate services, making it easier for people to get the help they need.

The Commonwealth retains its strong policy role in all of these areas.

For example in the disability area, under the proposed reform the Commonwealth will retain a central role in policy making, and development of new reforms.

Already, in disability the Government has an ambitious reform agenda and has already injected significant additional funding—including the $100 million for capital announced by the Prime Minister in May, and $900 million into the new disability agreement for accommodation, respite and care services. State and Territory Governments also agreed to contribute additional funding of $900 million.

The next wave of reform will introduce national tools to identify service benchmarks; plan for changing needs; identify people at risk; and work towards program and service delivery consistency across jurisdictions.

The Australian Government is mindful of the concerns of service providers and employees whose role in providing community care services is vital.

Under the proposed reforms the current mix of community care service providers will continue, including local government, state agency and non-government providers.

We will work with stakeholders to ensure that the future system of community care builds on the strengths of the existing service infrastructure, the experience of the workforce and the needs of local communities.