Residents and carers in the Augusta Margaret River region have expressed concerns following the closure of the Department of Communities, Disability Services Margaret River Local Coordination office last week.
According to the Department of Communities Assistant Director Disability Services Marion Hailes-MacDonald, the office closed on May 18 as it was no longer functional for staffing requirements and was not big enough to accommodate all four staff.
“The staff have relocated to the Busselton Local Coordination office and will continue to provide supports and services for Margaret River from that office,” said Ms Hailes-MacDonald.
“Much of this work involves meeting with individuals and families in the community in a location of their choice, such as the family home.”
A local carer who did not wish to be named said the closure would create “massive difficulty” for those requiring disability services who did not have secure accommodation or a way to travel to Busselton.
“What about the people sleeping in their cars, or the people who dont have a laptop and a mobile phone and a consistent place to stay?
“This just makes everything harder for the people who need it most,” she said.
“There are the people from Augusta who are even more isolated now, things just seem to be getting further and further away.”
“Not to mention the amazing team of staff from Margaret River, now having to travel up to Busselton to be based in an office further away from those very clients.”
Ms Hailes-MacDonald said the department was working to identify alternative meeting spaces in Margaret River, “to ensure that people with disability, their families and carers are not inconvenienced.”
The move is part of a larger restructure under which the National Disability Insurance Agency will assume responsibility for delivering the Australia-wide National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in the South West region, encompassing the Margaret River area, from July 1.
“Communities will have a continuing presence in the South West region, and local coordination and other disability supports to people with disability will be maintained until the transfer to the Australia-wide NDIS is completed.”
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Margaret River Mail
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