Signing of five-year agreement with Commonwealth for $16M SAAP

12/12/95

Family and Children's Services Minister Roger Nicholls announced today that he had signed a new five-year agreement with the Commonwealth for the $16 million Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP).

SAAP provides accommodation for homeless people, including refuges for women and children escaping from violence in the home.

Mr Nicholls said the new agreement provided for a number of reforms on a national basis and some special administrative benefits for Western Australia.

The reforms included a national data collection system which would eventually overcome the serious problems caused by inadequate information about the need for, and use of, the various categories of accommodation provided by SAAP.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare had won the contract for the national data collection system and was expected to have it operating from April next year.

The new agreement provided for the introduction of case management practices within SAAP so that the program would deal with people's total situation rather than only the immediate crisis.

Related to the introduction of case management would be better links with other programs such as health and housing.

In addition to the national reforms, WA had gained a significantly streamlined approvals process so that in future the administration would be essentially a State responsibility.

The Commonwealth, through Housing Minister Brian Howe, had agreed that once a State plan had been approved by the Commonwealth, the State would not have to go through the complex and time-consuming process of gaining Commonwealth approval for each new service or change of service made within that plan.

This could represent a saving of three to six months in each case.

WA had been the last State to sign the new SAAP agreement, but the delay had been worthwhile to achieve the more efficient administrative process for the next five years.

The new system would dovetail with the State's new model for the funding of non-Government services, so that agencies would be working on the same principles for their SAAP and non-SAAP services.

The recently appointed Ministerial advisory committee would now proceed with the preparation of the State plan for the development of SAAP over the next five years.

The plan would incorporate the range of reforms that had been under discussion within the sector since the State's SAAP review was completed last year.

Media contact: Hugh Ryan 221 5468