OPPOSITION assistant spokesman on autism Bernie Finn called for urgent reform of autism services in regional and rural Victoria during a trip to Mildura on Tuesday.
Mr Finn held two forums, with families and clinicians working in the sector, in a bid to hear rural concerns and ascertain the role the State Government should play in managing the issue.
“I’m hearing from a range of people that the services in regional Victoria are not up to scratch,” Mr Finn said.
“There are some services that are doing marvellous things, but there are other areas that are not.”
One of Mr Finn’s concerns was the autism education sector, where he said the system was “severely broken” and “needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency”.
“Most parts of regional Victoria don’t have autism schools at all.
“They have to rely on specialist schools or mainstream schools where they don’t have the support at all. It’s a really, really difficult situation.”
Despite the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as a federal matter, Mr Finn said he believed the State Government had an important role to play in “filling the holes” left by the NDIS.
He said he would like to see the lack of funding for research into autism addressed, emphasising the key role research has played in helping children with autism be diagnosed earlier before channelling into early intervention programs.
“The NDIS never has and still doesn’t have any plans to cover research,” Mr Finn said.
“The State Government has an obligation to step in and support research facilities.”
However, Mr Finn emphasised the complexity of the task and cautioned against a “one-size-fits-all solution”, saying the issue demanded flexibility.
He said he hoped to use information from the Mildura forums, along with others held in Ballarat, Gippsland and the Western district, to inform policy in preparation for the 2022 state election.
“We’ve got to help people get to the point where they can wake up in the morning without knowing they are going to have to fight for every inch of the way for what little they get in support,” Mr Finn said.
