Finance Australian Federal Government

Australian Federal Government budget

The 2020-2021 Australian Federal Government budget brings significant stimulus to assist with the recovery of an economy impacted by the global covid-19 pandemic.

The following are examples of measures that could directly impact our Sector.

Prioritising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health

This budget includes a $4 billion investment in Indigenous health funding over four years, including $975.5 million in 2020-2021. $546.9 million is allocated to the Indigenous Australians Health Program (IAHP) funding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations (ATSICCHOs), with a further $33 million being provided through the IAHP to expand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care services. $5 million is provided in 2020-21 to improve early identification of hearing and speech difficulties for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children as part of the $21.2 million funding for the national three-year Roadmap for Hearing Health. Also included, is an expansion of the Closing the Gap Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Co-Pay Program. This will increase accessibility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to PBS medications by reducing restrictions on patient registration and issuing of scripts. This will especially benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when moving between different geographic locations.

Closing the Gap

$46.5 million is provided over four years to support the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and build the capacity of the ATSICCHO Sector to improve local service delivery. This funding will be complemented by cocontributions from state and territory governments. The Government will also provide $10.1 million over four years for the Productivity Commission to provide independent oversight and accountability of progress under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. As well as supporting the comprehensive review of progress every three years, this measure includes developing and maintaining an information dashboard and an annual data report that all parties can use in reporting their performance against the Agreement.

Response to the COVID-19 pandemic

$9.8 million is provided to deliver free COVID-19 testing at the point-of-care in 86 remote locations and $52.8 million to support early evacuations, aeromedical retrievals, as well as mobile respiratory clinics. ATSICCHOs are enabling unprecedented access to culturally safe assessment and testing across urban and regional areas, by operating 23 of the up to 150 General Practitioner-led Respiratory Clinics. As part of that $377.5 million package, additional support worth $8.3 million has already been distributed through NACCHO to enable ATSICCHOs to respond flexibly to COVID-19.

IAHP New funding model for ATSICCHOs

From 1 July 2020, more than $90 million over three years will be provided to cover the costs of the new funding model for ATSICCHOs, with three year funding agreements and annual indexation, under the IAHP.

Investing in mental health

The government has invested $5.7 billion in 2020-2021, including funding for critical frontline services, suicide prevention and key programs. This includes $101 million of additional funding to provide access to ten additional Medicare subsidised psychological therapy sessions to people with a mental health care plan, so that they can continue to access the services they need.

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

To make high cost drugs available and affordable, the Government included 12 additional high cost medicines in the listing of the PBS.

Prevention

$184.1 million is provided in 2020-21 for long-term investments in preventive health. Also, the Government will provide $7.2 million in 2020-21 to extend the Good

WITH KEVIN SIAH, FINANCE MANAGER AND GOVIND OJHA, SENIOR POLICY OFFICER, QAIHC

Sports Program, which provides tools and support for community sporting clubs to promote good mental health and reduce harmful alcohol consumption and drug use.

Oral health

$107.8 million is provided in 2020-21 to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Adult Public Dental Services for one year to provide services to around 180,000 additional public dental health patients.

JobMaker Hiring Credit

To encourage organisations to hire additional employees, the government will provide a Hiring Credit for each eligible employee for 12 months from 7 October 2020. Employers must demonstrate the new employee will increase overall headcount and payroll. Employers will receive $200 per week per eligible employee aged 16-29 years and $100 per week per eligible employee aged 30-35 years. Employees will need to work a minimum of 20 hours per week and have received a JobSeeker payment, Youth Allowance or Parenting Payment for at least one month in the last three months prior to hiring. Employers who are currently claiming JobKeeper payments are ineligible.

Traineeships

Organisations will receive 50 percent wage subsidy, up to a cap of $7,000 per quarter, for commencing apprentices and trainees, including those employed by Group Training Organisations until 30 September 2021. Existing workers embarking on a new apprenticeship will be included in this scheme to support upskilling and reskilling.

Housing

$150 million over three years from 2020-21 is provided to Indigenous Business Australia for new housing construction loans in regional Australia through its Indigenous Home Ownership Program. In addition, $100 million is provided to the Queensland Government to finalise the agreement to deliver more housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in remote Queensland.

The Sector’s response

NACCHO lodged two pre-budget submissions, one in December 2019 as part of the normal 2020-21 Budget process, and a redrafted version in August 2020 as the Budget was deferred to October due to the pandemic. The redrafted submission takes into consideration the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the need to realign the Sector’s priorities with the recent National Agreement on Closing the Gap (signed on 27 July 2020). The majority of NACCHO’s requests were not adequately addressed in the 2020-21 Federal Budget.

In their Media Release of 7 October 2020, NACCHO highlighted that the Budget had missed an opportunity to:

invest in local clinics across the country where over 410,000 clients reside; investing in the ATSICCHO Sector would have supported the main objective of the Budget (stimulus)

fix the funding shortfall for the second largest employer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the country; investment in infrastructure would have helped the Sector to generate even more local jobs

strengthen the Commonwealth Government’s commitment to the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap; further investment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs would have been a clear demonstration of the Commonwealth’s commitment to the new arrangements

address historic funding shortfalls in social housing; an opportunity to improve the social determinants of health

acknowledge the Sectors successful response to COVID-19 crisis and the importance of locallydriven action.

For more information visit naccho.org.au/aboriginal-health-funding-boostedbut-infrastructure-overlooked/ or contact the Policy Team at policyteam@qaihc.com.au