Ms Una Nagle:

I would like to make a few points. I thank Senator Flynn for that. We in the intellectual disability world, if you like, support people who are on a broad spectrum of ability. In recent years, we have found ourselves in reactive mode rather than proactive mode. Ideally, it is down to planning. Our approach must be person-centred as we educate and support individuals who are living with elderly parents to ensure they have the maximum choice of independent living. There are supports in place for people although probably not enough of them. It is about supporting people to live in their own apartments with visiting supports. That would be the ideal scenario. Too often, we have seen people coming into residential care in a crisis situation when, in fact, with support, they would be quite able to live in their own apartment and enjoy quality services in their local communities. The key message we want to get across is the need for planning. Our approach must be person-centred. There is a spectrum out there and as an organisation, we need to be able to promote independence. We find ourselves constantly in reactive mode due to the fact we do not get the time to do the proactive work. On that basis, I strongly advocate for people to sit down, identify who we are planning for and what training supports we can offer before it becomes a crisis situation.