Funding Options and Information
Access to funding is one of the prime concerns of most providers. The following is a brief overview of where funding for disability related projects, support or equipment can be found.
Government Funding Options
State Government Grants
- Department of Planning and Community Development offer a range of community grants
- Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE): for ACFE providers only – Delivery support grants designed to provide additional support to ACE providers to sustain delivery to learners.
Local Government Grants
Most local governments offer annual community grants. These usually open around March/April (but may vary with each municipality). Check with your local MetroAccess or Rural Access officer.
Local Government Responsibilities
Where local government owns the ACE provider building they have a responsibility to ensure disability access. Past experience has found that where a provider has a Disability Action Plan that they can present to their local council, this has expedited the building of ramps, accessible toilets and so forth.
Non Government Funding Options
Philanthropic Trusts and Foundations
Most of these will require you to have Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) or Income Tax Exempt Charity (ITEC) tax status. There are exceptions such as the Reichstein Foundation
- Listing and information on trusts can be found through Philanthropy Australia and on Philanthropywiki
- Ourcommunity.com: provides information on how to apply for grants and listings of available grants at any one time. You need to subscribe.
Local Business
Local businesses are often open to being approached for funds for equipment in exchange for advertising. It is also worth talking to your local chamber of commerce. Check with your local government directory for contacts.
Bendigo Bank: This bank offers grants to individual districts on a rotational basis. Bookmark the website to check when your area comes up
Service Clubs
Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Kiwanis are all possible sources of funding, especially one off equipment grants. They are often looking for guest speakers at their meetings – offer to give a talk about your service. Check with your local council directory for service club contacts.
- Access to telecommunications equipment eg TTY and National Relay service through Telstra and Optus
- Aids and equipment program (AEP): Guidelines for subsidies for equipment such as wheelchairs, home modifications, hoists. Note it will not subsidise equipment needed especially for work or educational settings.
Funding From Individual Support Packages
In Victoria, people with a disability have been funded through a number of different mechanisms. In the past, in line with the old centre-based day service model people were “block “ funded: that is, their funding was part of group funding provided to a day service organisation along with funding for others also attending that service. Some people are still funded this way. However, increasingly people with a disability have been receiving individual funding such as Futures for Young Adults or Support and Choice or Home First, which comprised packages intended to be tailored for individual needs. These were (except in a very few circumstances) not allocated directly to the person with a disability or their family, but were held for them by an intermediary such as a disability services organisation or TAFE college.
From July 2008, the Department of Human Services has been moving towards rolling all packages such as Support and Choice, Home First and Futures for Young Adults into Individual Support Packages. These are still for the most part paid to an intermediary organisation, although a pilot program to allow a small number of people to handle their own finances is currently underway. The funds allotted in Individual Support Packages are intended to pay for the support a person with a disability requires for their day activities in line with their Individual Support Plan - whether these activities are held in a disability support service or in the community. The reality is, however, that there is frequently insufficient money in a package to provide individual paid support for all the activities a person might want to undertake.
Implications for ACE providers
The Education Standards state that an adult education provider is the body responsible for supplying the support needs of an individual with a disability accessing their classes. But funding for such support may be included within each individual’s Individual Support Package. Very few ACE providers have access to funds to provide all the support a person with a disability often needs unless they are acting as an intermediary for an Individual Support Package.
The advice of the ACE Disability Network is that providers negotiate with those referring agencies who do hold the Individual Support Package funding on behalf of an individual.
Disability Support Pensions
Students who are in receipt of a Disability Support Pension may also be entitled to the following:
Pension Education Supplement which provides assistance with on going costs associated with study and which is available for fulltime students and, in certain circumstances those approved to undertake part time study of at least 25% of a full study load
Mobility Allowance which provides assistance to people with disabilities who are involved in qualifying activities such as job seeking or any combination of paid employment, voluntary work, vocational training and independent living/life skills training, and who cannot use public transport permanently or for an extended period without substantial assistance.
Again ACE providers should negotiate with the student and their referring agency as to whether these can be used assist with course costs.
Funding and Support Options for Building Modifications that Improve Disability Access
Section 23 of the Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of disability in providing access to or use of premises that the public can enter or use. This includes all ACE providers.
As at 2009 there is no specific on-going government funding program for disability modifications, however such modifications can/should be included in any renovation/modernisation of a building. ACE providers are supposed to be accessible under the Disability Discrimination Act, Education Standards and all other government regulatory systems.
Depending on the type/expense involved with the items required consider the following:
For a portable Disability Access Ramp
Obtain advice and assistance with this via a local Health Centre Occupational Therapist as the ramp needs to be built to Disability Access guidelines and should also be tailored to suit the width of the door opening. A word of warning: an access ramp may create an OHS hazard and may not be the best solution for an area with steps if you intend this to be a permanent solution.
Often a person with a disability may bring their own ramp. Ask them if they have a ramp and if they think it would work at your centre.
Funding for a Ramp
You will need to cost out your ramp and write a funding application to cover its purchase and delivery. Possible funders /supporters may include:
- Local Government/Shires
- Local businesses/community
- Philanthropic Trusts
- State government e.g DPCD
- Your own or the person's own fund raising activities
Funding for Building Accessibility Modifications
Unfortunately the same applies in relation to funding the cost of any building accessibility modifications with respect to funding.
Any building modifications made must be done according to the Australian Standards. These standards are under review. However the following primary Australian Standards relating to building modifications are still relevant:
- AS 1428.1- Design for access and mobility, Part 1: General requirements for access- New building work
- AS 1428.2- Design for access and mobility, Part 2: Enhanced and additional requirements- Building and facilities.
Accessibility modifications commonly consider:
- accessible paths of travel to the front door or doors - considerations should be given to clear wide paths, ramps, safety kerbs, handrails and tactile ground surface indicators
- car parks - considerations should be made for wider car bays with adequate clearance space above the car and be marked with international symbol for access
- accessible pathways within the building - consideration should be given to clear wide pathways, the presence of steps or other barriers, floor surfaces, ramps and rails, tactile or visual indicators, etc.
- doorways - consideration should be given to adequate circulation space, the ease of door opening (weight of door/handles) and the requirement for visual indicators or colour contrast
- toilets - the provision of an accessible toilet, with adequate circulation space, grab rails, access to sinks, taps, paper towels, adequate visual / tactile indicators for the toilet and the ease of door opening
- workspace - the access and use of appropriate equipment, taking into consideration the heights of desk/equipment, visual/tactile or auditory cues required, circulation space and the provision of specialised equipment such as computer and adaptive technology.
(Standards Australia 1992; Standards Australia 2001; HREOC)
To get advice or assistance that ensures you comply with these requirements you should contact one of the many access consultancy services available online.
A good starting point would be the Association of Consultants in Access Australia.
- Address: 326 Autumn Street, HERNE HILL, VIC., 3218
- Telephone: +61 3 5221 2820
- Facsimile: +61 3 5221 2820
- Association of Consultants in Access Australia website