BENDIGO is ready for the rollout of DisabilityCare.
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That was the message passed on to Minister for Disability Reform Jenny Macklin during her visit to Bendigo yesterday.
Ms Macklin and Labor candidate for Bendigo Lisa Chesters met people with a disability, their families and carers to discuss the rollout of DisabilityCare to Bendigo.
‘‘Lisa Chesters has been a very active campaigner to make sure that when we roll out DisabilityCare to other parts of Victoria that it comes to Bendigo next,’’ Ms Macklin said.
‘‘We started in Geelong but she’s pushing very hard for Bendigo to be the next place when we start to transition in 2016.’’
Ms Chesters told Ms Macklin that Bendigo families and people working in the disability services were continually telling her, ‘‘We’re ready’’.
‘‘So many of our organisations here in Bendigo are ready to partner, ready to be providers, ready to work together,’’ Ms Chesters said.
‘‘So that’s the message that I’ve been saying to Minister Macklin, that we provide services for the region here, it’s not just Bendigo but it’s this part of Victoria, central Victoria up into the north. We’re ready.’’
DisabilityCare launched in four location across the country on July 1 this year.
‘‘DisabilityCare will give people peace of mind that if their child or loved one has a significant and permanent disability, they will get the care and support they need, when they need it,’’ Ms Macklin said.
‘ ‘ Once fully rolled out , DisabilityCare will provide about 100,000 people with disability in Victoria with the care and support they deserve.
‘‘Here in the electorate of Bendigo about 3400 local people with disability and about 1400 will get extra support and have more choice over how they receive that support.’’
Ms Macklin said the DisabilityCare rollout would be influenced by areas that were ‘‘ready’’.
‘‘We’ll sit down with the Victorian government and plan that across the state,’’ she said.
‘‘So it will be a matter of which areas are ready . . . to hear what Lisa (Chesters) is saying, that there are providers here in Bendigo thinking about what is it that we need to do to get ready, that was really important in Geelong.’’