gonna get put through hoops. They don‟t know. I would suspect that there are a lot of people who don‟t come who just get a bit of help from Mum or a next door neighbour or somebody. They can ask for a bit of help and sort of struggle through. What percentage of that is out in the community I wouldn‟t have any idea but I would suspect there is some out there because we never seem to stop getting new clients. Some people do indicate that they have been in need for quite a period of time but they just haven‟t been able to access us.” It is beyond the scope of this project, to contribute to identifying the level of need for EFR however it is worth highlighting that the process of determining need at the coal face translates as a major challenge that EFR providers have to face on daily basis. FaHCSIA does not stipulate how EFR providers are to assess needs. For most providers assessing need is a flexible, empathetic, subjective and socially determined process and there are no „strict rules‟. Tasmanian EFR providers talked at length about the challenges of identifying need versus demand and responding accordingly. Here are some examples:
Deciding what „evidence of hardship‟ is required. The process of assessing needs and determining the level of assistance provided varies from organisation to organisation. Some EFR providers are more scrupulous about clients demonstrating „evidence of hardship‟ than others. The value of food vouchers allocated to people also varies greatly from one organisation to the next (e.g. in Hobart or Launceston a family may receive $100 but on the East Coast a family may only receive $15). This raises concerns about the equity of EFR in Tasmania. “(allocating vouchers)….it depends on your needs, on when you got your last lot of pay or when the next lot was coming in, how many are in your family, what other issues you had going on in your life at this time. The maximum amount we would give to anybody is $150 right down to $10. It just depends what the need was.” “…We‟re probably not as rigorous as some. We don‟t require people to bring proof of bills. We tend to think that it‟s hard enough for people to walk in the door and ask for help without really putting them through the third degree when they get here….if people are prepared to make an appointment and turn up for an appointment then there is a need.” “Consistency…where as I might give a family $100 she would say, „well they‟ve only got four days to go and give $60.”
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