Premier says no ‘blank check’ for Bedford – but support is on the table
The state government has put money on the table and will continue talks into the weekend with disability employer Bedford to address concerns of its collapse.
The state government has offered funding support to disability employment services provider Bedford, following yesterday’s announcement it will enter voluntary administration on Sunday.
The Premier met with Bedford this morning and offered financial support – but how much has not yet been revealed.
While NDIS and the disability employment sector is a federal government responsibility, the state government intends to work with Bedford and McGrathNicol, which has been engaged by the bank to assess its finances to mitigate any disruptions to its delivery in South Australia.
“We want to continue to engage with McGrathNicol today and over the course of the weekend to see if we can’t find a plan to get through here,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said Friday morning.
“There are still very active negotiations going on with the bank today and again over the weekend, to see if we can’t use the state government’s offer of support to buy some time here and see a way through.
“I can’t speak for the federal government, part of the challenge for the state government, and presumably the federal government, is we don’t want to put money into this exercise only to see it lost and then the business still end up in administration anyway.
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“We don’t want just to sign a blank check. We want to invest. We want to support. We want to contribute to the cause of Bedford’s ongoing operations, and we’ve got to make sure that, as with a clear focus of a sustainable future.
“Now, if that can’t be achieved, then we have to find an alternative option, and that is to support those workers in the event that administration is entered into, which is ultimately a decision exclusively for the board of Bedford.”
Bedford claims it is the second-largest employer for people with disability in the country, with the decision to appoint administrators expected to “directly impact 1400 people with disability across South Australia”.
Bedford chair Janet Miller said they’ve had “productive” discussions with the Premier and the Treasurer.
“We believe, after this morning’s discussions, that there’s a potential pathway forward. It’s early days,” she said.
“There is a lot of work to be done now over the course of today and the weekend, but we’re feeling hopeful that there is a pathway forward.”
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She also pointed to concerns around the NDIS model being unsustainable.
“There are something like 70 per cent of registered NDIS providers that have significant financial challenges,” she said.
“So the NDIS itself is very difficult, particularly the supported employment model within the NDIS is very difficult.
“We know that the Royal Commission outcomes suggested a move away from supported employment and into open employment, Bedford has taken a lead in that.
“So we’ve created a raft of social enterprises to transition people away from supported employment into open employment.
“So there are a few things at play: there is the sustainability of the NDIS model for supported employment, there is the strategy that we’ve embarked upon to transition those supported employees into open employment, and those businesses not getting the traction within the time that we expected.”
Federal Health, Ageing and Disability Minister Mark Butler told ABC Radio this morning he believed Bedford’s situation was “dire” and that they have also been in talks.
“We have been talking to them. It’s not usual for the Federal Government to give money to an organisation that is failing financially before it goes into administration,” he said.
Bedford advised clients, families and staff of the decision on Thursday “following an exhausting negotiation process with the state and Federal Governments, banking and commercial partners NAB”.
