Domiciliary Care

I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, representing the Minister for Families and Communities, a question about domiciliary care.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Metropolitan Domiciliary Care is the product of the amalgamation of the four Metropolitan Domiciliary Care services (being the Northern, Southern, Eastern andWestern regions) into one service. At the outset, this was done to free up resources from the administrative section, to streamline services and to ensure that a greater volume of services would be available to clients.

Recently, I visited a constituent in the southern suburbs—the mother of a girl with severe disabilities—who had sought services from the Carer Support and Respite Centre based at Bedford Park. They were advised by the centre that it was overloaded because Domiciliary Care had referred all its clients there and is not providing any more respite services.

My questions are:

1. Has there been an increase in demand for services through Domiciliary Care?

2. Has there been an increase in the resources to meet demand?

3. Will the minister look at the services and make some adjustments so that the parents of children with severe disabilities can get a break?

The Hon. T.G. ROBERTS (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation): I will refer those important questions to the minister in another place and bring back a reply.