New HACC funding for Tasmania
Frail older people, the younger disabled, and their carers will benefit from $41.9 million in funding delivered through 61 Tasmanian Home and Community Care (HACC) service providers. This is an increase of $3.4 million, or 9% on 2005-06 funding.
The details have been announced by the Minister for Ageing, Christopher Pyne, and the Tasmanian Minister for Health and Human Services, Lara Giddings.
More funds have been made available for personal care, home modifications, domestic assistance and community transport services, all of which assist older people and those with disabilities to participate in the life of their community, and live as independently as possible in their own homes.
Among the services that will receive additional funding are Anglicare ($315,000 to provide about 12,000 additional hours of personal care a year), Family Based Care North ($115,000 for 5,100 hours), Family Based Care North West ($60,000 for 1,800 hours), and Community Based Support South ($255,000 for 8,500 hours) to provide personal care.
Other organisations have been allocated a total of $350,000 to provide more than 17,000 hours of domestic assistance across the state.
Funding will also be provided for one-off capital projects, including the purchase of 19 vehicles to provide non-emergency medical transport for people who live outside metropolitan areas.
Innovative projects have also been funded, including staging an aged-care expo in the Central Highlands, funding volunteer “mates” to develop better skills for HACC clients to manage low-maintenance gardens, and developing and extending services for people with dementia.
