Queensland Community Services: New Laws Cut Funding Red Tape, Increase Government Scrutiny

Recently, the Queensland government introduced new laws which it claims will simplify current laws and improve the management and use of public funds. The Communities Legislation (Funding Red Tape Reduction) Amendment Bill 2014 proposes restructuring the legislation by removing provisions in the Disability Services Act 2006 which are replicated in the Community Services Act 2007 (CSA), and repealing the Family Services Act 1987. It is envisaged that the CSA will be used as the ‘template’ for funding processes by any Department or government agency administering funding.

Restructured Funding Regime

If passed, the Bill will change the way that funding and assistance are awarded and administered, including establishing a single application for funding. This, according to Communities Minister Tracy Davis, will remove duplication and ‘unnecessary compliance requirements’ which exist in the current funding regime. The change, Ms Davis asserts, will serve to “slash red tape” and “slash the cost of doing business for funded organisations” by reducing costs for community and disability organisations by $2.6 million per year.”

Access to External Review Abolished

The Bill also seeks to remove accessibility to external review, conferring unfettered discretion in decision making to the Department and the Minister on the basis of protecting the government ‘investment’ of taxpayer funds. If passed, funded organisations will no longer be able to apply to QCAT for external merits review leaving a large number of important matters to ministerial or departmental discretion. Review of matters including Department decision to appoint an interim manager, cease funding, or suspend funding will be internal only. Similarly, funded entities will no longer be able to apply to QCAT for a stay of a decision while the decision is being reviewed. The Department can choose to stay the decision but is not required to do so.

Other Key Changes include:

• Removing service standards and governance and policy requirements from the CSA and leaving them to funding contracts. There will also no longer be a requirement to have a written funding contract;
• Expanding the kinds of assistance regulated by the government via the CSA regime to include most forms of government assistance from the Department, whether in cash or in kind, whether one-off or ongoing, where there is an requirement of the funded organisation to produce a particular result. This will cover subcontractors who have been engaged by a funded entity to provide a product or service. Currently, only recurrent funding to approved providers is covered by the CSA;
• The Minister will be able to make a declaration before or after funding is awarded and can take into account anything they consider relevant in deciding whether to make a declaration. If a declaration is made over an organisation after funding is received which causes the CSA to apply where previously it did not apply, the Department must inform the organisation. However, if the Department fails to do so, the CSA and its powers still apply to that organisation;
• Removing unnecessary paperwork and increasing competition between service providers by eliminating the current ‘two tier’ process for obtaining recurrent funding under the CSA – ‘approved provider’ status will no longer be required. The Department has said that it expects most funding opportunities will be available for public tender;
• Broadening departmental discretion to intervene by linking grounds for intervention to ‘serious concerns’.  Proposed new section 16 states that a ‘serious concern’ exists if:
• funding is ‘improperly used’;
• a funded organisation ‘significantly fails to deliver a funded product or service’ a funded entity does or fails to do something in the course of ‘providing a funded product or service’ which ‘results in harm to an individual’;
• or where the funding is for disability services under the DSA, a funded entity breaches the DSA,
• or if there is a ‘serious risk’ that any of these things will happen.

These standards are very general and are not further defined in the Bill or anywhere in the existing legislation.

The Bill is presently before the Health and Community Services Committee. The committee will hold a public hearing on 5 March to hear from invited witnesses, and must report to Parliament by 12 March 2014.

For more information on the department’s supports and services visit www.communities.qld.gov.au

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Media Release

Neumann and Turnour