Royal Far West

Address to the Federation Chamber, Private Members' Business

Monday 25 November 2024

I'd also like to commend the member for Parkes for bringing this motion before the House. Royal Far West is a charity dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of country children and has been doing so since 1924—almost a hundred years. Their work addresses service gaps and supports our most vulnerable families and communities to help students meet learning, wellbeing and engagement outcomes through unique, multidisciplinary and child-centred approaches that partner with families, schools and communities to provide truly integrated and collaborative wraparound care. RFW provides multidisciplinary allied health screening, assessment and therapy services for children up to 12 years old. It also provides capacity building services for parents, carers, teachers and local health professionals. And while the RFW traditionally operates from a hub in Manly, New South Wales, using telecare and working with local communities, RFW's services extend to rural and remote areas right across Australia. I note that, while RFW does not operate in or service the ACT or my electorate of Bean, it plays an important role across the region. And as a member of this national parliament I, and I believe all of us in this parliament, have an interest in appropriate and cost-effective services being delivered for all citizens across all parts of the nation.

At this point I note and acknowledge the correspondence my office has received about this matter from the Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. The Catholic Education Office have communicated to me the important work done in remote communities like Lake Cargelligo and the critical difference they're making to some of our local First Nations communities. These representations have aided my understanding of the works that RFW does in the capital region and the issues around its future.

I'm advised that since the COVID-19 pandemic RFW has shifted its footprint to delivering approximately 40 per cent of its clinical and service staff and services in communities across the four states. In 2023, they supported over 21,000 country children, parents and educators, of whom 30 per cent identified as First Nations Australians. Over the last seven years, since 2018-19, the Community Health and Hospitals Program provided RFW $19.7 million to expand their service and upgrade necessary infrastructure. This funding runs to 30 June 2025. The government also provided RFW with just over $300,000 in 2023 under an October 2022 budget allocation to support community sector organisations to manage the cost of staff wages and higher inflation. In addition to the CHHP, RFW received community recovery program and bushfire recovery program funding across six separate state and Commonwealth grants.

The mental health and wellbeing of all Australians is a priority for the Australian government, including for children and their families affected by disasters. I recognise the important work of Royal Far West, particularly their work supporting young people through periods of national disaster and recovery, and the pressure this places on their funding sources. The National Disaster Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework was released in 2023. The framework was developed in consultation with, and agreed by, state and territory governments. The framework aims to guide how governments and recovery partners consistently and sustainably support the delivery of mental health services and improve the wellbeing of affected individuals before, during and after disasters.

The Department of Health and Aged Care is working closely with the National Emergency Management Agency to implement the framework. Under the framework, states and territories have the lead role in emergency planning and coordination. The government recognises the importance of locally led and delivered responses and that states and territories are best placed to identify the type and level of assistance to make available following a natural disaster.

But it's critical that organisations like Royal Far West are not forgotten in this work. At the national level, organisations like these can fall through the cracks despite the critical work they're doing. So I support the government continuing to work closely with Royal Far West, and we will, of course, engage in further discussions about their future and support further funding for RFW.