RACHEL STEPHEN-SMITH MLA

Minister for Community Services and Social Inclusion

Minister for Disability, Children and Youth
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs
Minister for Multicultural Affairs
Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations
Member for Kurrajong

2 May 2018

ACT Government welcomes new NDIS Grant Funding for

the ACT
The ACT Government welcomes the announcement by the Federal Minister for Social Services on the seventeen
successful organisations in the most recent Information Linkage and Capacity Building (ILC) grant process.

The $3 million investment will build the capacity of people with disability in the ACT, link them with services and help
break down barriers to accessing mainstream services.

I am particularly pleased to see a number of existing ACT providers were successful in gaining funding.

SHOUT has been funded for a project that will extend the reach of its web portal (funded by the 2017 grants) by
employing a Development Officer to connect individuals or groups who have limited web access or digital skills.

Pegasus Riding for the Disabled has also been funded for its Equine Facilitated Learning program to support young
adults to develop their social and emotional wellbeing through interaction with horses.

Other local initiatives include:

 Autism Spectrum Australia (ASPECT) will develop and deliver an autism training package for ACT Policing.
 Rebus Theatre’s project will deliver a series of capacity-building workshops for employees of three
mainstream services: Health, Justice and Transport.
 People With Disabilities ACT will scope and develop resources to improve health outcomes for people with
disabilities.
 Volunteering and Contact ACT will undertake a project to deliver meaningful volunteering opportunities for
people with a disability.
In addition, St Vincent de Paul was successful in the National ILC readiness round to deliver a program designed
for people with a psychosocial disability who are ineligible for NDIS funding. This project will offer access to
quality information about services that can best meet their needs.

The ACT Government has been working closely with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to ensure
that the grants meet the needs of the ACT community.

Following feedback from the first ILC round, we have been assured that unsuccessful applicants will be notified
that they can seek individual feedback on their application to the Jurisdictional Based Grant Round.

Applicants can request feedback by sending an email to the Support Team at the Community Grants Hub at DSS
stating their legal entity name, project/activity title and relevant jurisdiction.

Statement ends

Media contact:
Tim Cooke M 0466 023 084 E tim.cooke@act.gov.au