$150,000 in Grants for Young People with Disability in NSW

The third round of At Home Care Grants in New South Wales applications are now open to help young people with disability pay for essential support.

A total of $150,000 in funding is available in this round for grants between $2,000 and $10,000 and those eligible can apply for a grant until the 31st of May.

The grants fund essential equipment such as wheelchairs and electric beds, respite care or home modifications to prevent young people (i.e. people under 65) from entering into aged care.

According to General Manager of Youngcare charity Anna Cox, there are currently over 7,500 young Australians living in aged care facilities because of the lack of alternatives.

“We have some great aged care providers, but the simple fact is aged care is no place for a young person” said Ms Cox.

“This means that for the aged care sector, 4 per cent of the people in aged care facilities in Australia are under 65” she said.

“Given the incredibly pressure that the aged care system is already under…It does seem like a crazy situation that 4 to 5 per cent of beds are being taken by people who simply shouldn’t be there” she said.

Ms Cox said Youngcare supported schemes such as the NDIS and hoped that it would provide appropriate support in terms of grants for medical aids and equipment, however stressed that it would not solve the problem for appropriate high care housing for the young disabled.

“The important thing is there are a range of choices” she said.

“The important thing is that for a 25 year old guy who’s had a major car accident, he’s a very young person with a young person’s interests and a young person’s friends, he needs a more suitable place for his needs” she said.

“We need a range of options for people under 65, maybe a share house for 18-25 year olds for example” she suggested.

This is the third round of funding for the grants, which comes from GIO, although Ms Cox said the number of applications often exceeded the amount of funds available.

“The grant is massively oversubscribed, we have more applications than we have funds” she said.

Ms Cox said that last year they had $100,000 to fund a round of grants, however the amount needed to fund every application was to the value of $650,000.

“We go down the list until we run out of money” she said.