Reporting required under any other act or regulation

As at 30 March 2019, 31 people with disability were living at the Fullarton campus, now known as Highgate Park.

During the 12 months since 30 March 2018, 28 clients have moved from Highgate Park to a variety of accommodation options. This includes one person who moved back to their family home, four who chose to move to a non-government service and three people over 65 years of age who moved to an aged care service close to their family. A further 20 people moved to purpose built houses which were part of the 100 new homes allocated for people with disability through the 1,000 Homes in 1,000 Days initiative.

Sadly, four residents passed away.

All people living at Highgate Park have participated in the Reconnecting to Community project, which has provided an opportunity to move to community accommodation. Of the remaining residents, 23 are preparing to move to houses being built through the 1,000 Homes in 1,000 Days initiative while eight have not decided on an accommodation option outside Highgate Park.

No previous residents returned to Highgate Park during the preceding 12 months and there were no new admissions.

The department provides funding to projects through the auspices of the Consumer Advocacy and Research Fund (CARF) to support advocacy or research in relation to water usage that promotes the interests of consumers with disability, on low-income and/or in regional areas. CARF receives $250,000 (indexed) per annum, primarily from water retail licence fees.

Projects which received funding in 2018-19 included:

• Water Pricing Inquiry Project (conducted by Business SA) to provide a consumer perspective on the Government’s election commitment to undertake an independent Water Pricing Inquiry.
• High Water Needs of Consumers Living with a Disability Research Project (conducted by Julia Farr Purple Orange) to document the particular conditions of people living with disability which necessitates high water use.
• Supporting Regional Customers in Financial Difficulty Project (conducted by Kerri Muller NRM Pty Ltd) that aims to provide minor and intermediate retailers with improved service options for customers in financial difficulty. This project also received funding in 2017-18.
• Sponsorship of the 2019 SACOSS Energy, Water and Telco Conference ‘What Does it Mean to Put Consumers at the Heart’ which explored the consumer-centric transformation evolving in essential services across Australia.

The Youth Justice Administration Act 2016 and Youth Justice Administration Regulations 2016 came into operation on 1 December 2016. The legislation is reflected in the Youth Justice service model, promoting contemporary practice that recognises assessment, case planning and rehabilitation programs as key to reducing re-offending.

During 2018-19, the Youth Justice Division continued to ensure that operational practices are consistent with legislative requirements through ongoing review of procedures and staff training.

DHS is currently implementing section 21A of the Act, which came into operation on 22 October 2018. This new section requires all people employed to work in training centres to undergo psychological assessment of a kind determined by the Chief Executive.

In the past year, Youth Justice also continued to explore improvements to information technology systems to increase the capacity to record and analyse client data to regularly review practice and monitor legislative compliance.

During 2018-19, Youth Justice continued to provide reports and records as required by the Training Centre Visitor (TCV). The role and functions of the TCV were established under the Act and include independent monitoring to ensure that the rights of residents of training centres are upheld. The current South Australian Guardian for Children and Young People was appointed as the TCV on 11 July 2017.

Under Section 6 of the Carers Recognition Act 2005, the department is required to ensure all officers, staff and agents have an awareness and understanding of the principles of the Carers Charter, which promotes consultation with carers or their representatives in policy development, service planning and delivery. DHS must also consider carers who receive government services and carers who are employees.

The following information summarises actions undertaken by the department during 2018-19 to support compliance with Section 6:

• employees were exposed to the requirements of the Act and Carers Charter during induction and training
• flexible carer leave arrangements were available across the department
• responsibilities under the Act and Carers Charter were raised at carers’ network and across-government meetings and during community forums
• young carers were provided with the opportunity to participate in the development of a three-year Youth Action Plan for South Australia
• the department, through the Community Services Directorate, continued to assist and liaise with other government departments that deliver services to carers or whose employees are carers
• South Australian Home and Community Care (SA HACC) program funding continued to be provided to five statewide carer support organisations for a range of carer services.

In addition to the above, the department consulted with the Department for Health and Wellbeing to identify carer services and supports for carers that will be available outside of the NDIS, through a range of government and non-government (community-based) initiatives and the Commonwealth Integrated Carer Support Service (ICSS).

Carers and service continuity remained a priority of the department during transition to the NDIS and implementation of the ICSS. DHS worked closely with the Carer Support Network SA during the roll-out of the NDIS, the Carer Gateway and establishment of Regional Delivery Partners under the ICSS.