Grants Awarded for Elderly Parent Carer Innovation Trial

Five organisations will share in almost $4.7 million under the first round of a new trial to create innovative living arrangements for people with disabilities and their elderly parent carers.
The Elderly Parent Carer Innovation Trial  attracted strong support and interest from the non-government sector, with five applicants selected to provide 39 new homes.
“There has been a need to provide accommodation options for people with disabilities, once their elderly parent carers are unable to look after them at home,” Disability Services Minister Tracy Davis said. “The Newman Government will contribute $15 million over three years as part of this trial for projects to meet this gap.
“Five applicants have been successful in this first funding round and will receive between $700,000 and $1 million—almost $4.7 million in total—towards the costs of their projects which are worth more than $10.5million.”
The successful applicants are:
·      Foresters Community Finance Limited: $1 million will be contributed along with $2 million from social investors to create a $3 million Community Finance Fund which will create an innovative financial leveraging project model with up to 15 places to be created. This is the first project of this kind for the Queensland Government. It will provide loans to non-government disability providers to build accommodation.
·      Lutheran Church of Australian Queensland (Lutheran Community Care): $1 million for the construction of a three-bedroom house and refurbishment of four existing units in Woodridge. The disability accommodation will be located nearby to the organisation’s Trinder Park aged care facility.
·      Youngcare Limited: $1 million for the construction of an eight-dwelling apartment complex, consisting of four high-care units, two mid-care units and two mainstream units on Brisbane’s northside at Albany Creek. The apartments will cater for people with a disability as well as mainstream tenants and a unique funding partnership will be leveraged with Multiple Sclerosis Queensland.
·      Endeavour Foundation: $993,250 for the integrated construction of two units for adults with a disability and two units for non-disability use, along with a spare room for family sleepovers in Bundaberg. The non-disability units will be rented at market-rate to create an income stream to reinvest into supports and care.
·      Multicap: $700,000 for the construction of two facilities consisting of 2 two-bedroom units in Rockhampton. The homes will trial a range of assisted technologies to monitor and assist disability clients, as well as creating an income stream from non-disability residents renting units at market price.
Ms Davis said the Newman Government acknowledged there was an unmet need in support for parents aged 65 years or over who care for adult sons or daughters with a disability who are aged 30 years and over.
“This trial is a positive step towards meeting this need and will provide elderly parents with certainty and a sense of security for when they can no longer care for their adult son or daughter with a disability,” she said.
The Elderly Parent Carer Innovation Trial is one of the initiatives that will prepare Queensland for its transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which will begin rolling-out in 2016.
For more information on the Elderly Parent Carer Innovation trial visit www.disability.qld.gov.au.