A federal government shake-up in disability employment services (DES) has attracted several new operators to set up shop in Warrnambool.
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Among the new DES operators with shopfronts in the city are APM, EGF Solutions, OCTEC and Axis who have joined long-time DES provider WDEA.
Under the national change that came into effect on July 1, DES providers now have to attract job seekers to their organisation instead of receiving a guaranteed share of referrals from Centrelink.
More of the federal funding offered to DES providers will also be tied to supporting people into lasting employment. The reform also allows people to choose their DES provider and gives them more control over the services.
Social Services Minister Dan Tehan said the change had opened the market up for more DES providers.
“We have gone from 11 organisations providing disability employment services to 17 in the electorate of Wannon,” Mr Tehan said.
The increase in providers in the electorate had generated another 30 jobs in the electorate, he said.
The regional boom in the number of DES providers is part of a national one, with the number of DES providers throughout Australia expanding from 117 to 137. The number of offices operated by the 137 providers has exploded from about 2000 to about 5000.
Mr Tehan said people now had more choice about their DES provider because of the federal government’s big investment in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
“There is more money in the disability sector,” he said.
The federal government would invest more than $3 billion into DES over four years, he said. Smaller providers will also share an additional $10 million over the next two years to assist their business transition to the new program.
Many people with disabilities would be placed in employment for the first time under the new arrangements, Mr Tehan said.
