The rollout of the NDIS over the next few years will result in a significant and much deserved increase in funding for people with disabilities in Tasmania.
It is important that service providers in the disability sector gear up to ensure they are in a position to provide the highest quality services to match the increased funding.
Oak and Possability are already very significant service-providers in the disability sector in Tasmania.
Possability has 390 staff and 450 clients in the South, North and North-West of Tasmania, a proud record of over 25 years of service in the community and is recognised as providing high quality person-centred services.
Oak similarly is widely recognised for its services including particularly outstanding employment services that provide meaningful and respected employment in the community through a range of innovative enterprises across the southern region of Tasmania.
Oak chair, Julie Rimes, said Oak was pleased to partner with an organisation like Possability. Together the two organisations would employ over 500 people and have a combined turnover of approaching $40 million per annum. This should give us the financial and managerial strength to ensure we can continue to service our existing clients and to provide a wider array of services to new clients emerging under the NDIS.
Possability chair, Brian Scullin, agreed the combined organisation would have the strength and vitality to rise to the challenges of the NDIS rollout.
Both chairs emphasised that the merger was about gearing up for the new NDIS world and did not envisage there would be any significant redundancies in either organisation.
“On the contrary we believe the merged organisation will be all about growth and, for example, it is quite possible in three years’ time, employment in the merged organisation could well be double the present employment of both organisations,” said Dr. Rimes and Mr. Scullin.
The two chairs indicated a merger of this type will take some time to complete as there are many legal, financial and employment details to be worked out. However, the respective boards were working to affect the process as quickly as possible and to be formally agreed by 1 July 2016.
Both boards indicated the challenges of the NDIS will be such that there will inevitably be considerable consolidation in the industry and while very focussed on the initial merger of the two organisations, they were open to taking similar action with other parties as the NDIS rollout proceeds.
22 April, 2016