Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 6:45:32 to 6:50:23
Examination of the criteria and application process for the Special Circumstances grant stream.
Topics: Education, Grants administration
Speakers: Senator Steph Hodgins-May, Ms. Larissa Hinds, Senator Jess Walsh, Ms. Michele Arcaro, Mr. Tony Cook, Ms. Kylie Crane
>> Hasn't that financial year finished now though? So, I'm sorry.
>> So, we've got different types of um programs under triple CF. So, we've just concluded a competitive round for grant process, but the special appropriation, sorry, the special circumstance special appropriation round of $4 million is an annual round that stays open every year.
>> So, not operating on financial years. Sorry, I'm just
>> sorry. It does open on operate on a financial year.
>> We just need people to apply for it. So the people who have applied for it so far we we've allocated $2 million or so.
>> Um so the figures that I gave secretary were for the 2526 year. In the 26 27 year we've currently got uh we've received 25 applications this year to date. Uh we've got um a number of those that have been assessed and we've got about 15 applications that are working their way through the process of
assessment currently. So, so but neither former financial year, previous financial year that 4 million has been expended. Is that because people didn't make applications for that money? That's notified about like how was it if a center is closing is the department notifying them about that potential or is it do you have any information? Do you think why that isn't those applications aren't going? You said there were 26 applications already in this financial year. Do you have the figures for how many applications were made in those earlier financial years?
So, I'll just be sorry. I'll just add to Miss Haines' um uh statement before. Michelle Caro, first assistant secretary of quality uh workforce and stewardship division. The special circumstances stream is quite uh specific. So, uh as Miss Haines have said, you have to apply for funding through the process and it's really about those that those services that are experiencing unforeseen or specific events. Uh so we find the pool of applicants for that type of funding is is a bit narrower than it might be through our open competitive round which is the round that has just opened and closed. So it's a separate stream within the overarching triple CF.
>> Okay. And in terms of the number of applications that were received and that were approved. Do you have those
>> We meant to take that on notes. I don't think we've gone back by the looks of it. I haven't got any historical data with me saying so we're happy to take
>> Yes please. It just it sounds like as I said such a modest amount of money if we're not spending $4 million to like what are and are those specific those circumstances those conditions are they all available for us to look at? So we
the criteria are relatively flexible and they talk about an unforeseen or unexpected circumstance where if there was to be a closure of that service there would be a market failure. So often it's a sole provider or um in the situation of uh an example would be an extreme weather event but we didn't want the the grants don't preclude uh other um special special events or special unforeseen events.
>> Yeah. If you could please provide a notice applications made of supported and denied but also the number of centers community run centers in particular that closed on those years that would be um useful information
please. And Senator, to your question around um how people know about this, all of this information is available um on the department's website um and it is provided through the sector newsletter that we have that we we will periodically send that out as well. So um this isn't information that's only put up and then taken down. It is available permanently up there.
>> Suppose perhaps to the minister, do you you know you're regularly hearing about centers that are closing down. Um do you have you told them that there's money that sitting there that hasn't been spent um in really with the kind of purpose of keeping these types of centers open? Is that something that concerns you? And
>> uh I mean we are um supporting services with the main triple CF round. Um certainly whenever I hear of a circumstance personally um of a service um that um may face challenge or may have missed out on the substantial round being the triple CF round. I I I literally do tell them about the special circumstances grant. Um obviously more more broadly um important that the department um uh does what Miss Crane has um indicated that they do which is provide that information on a broader scale than I would be able to provide that
>> And this particular grant is actually supposed to be a one-off. It's not only it's like a particular circumstance that just needs a small injection of funding once effectively is the purpose of this grant. All the other CF grants are for more of a long-term scenario, Senator, just to help with why perhaps there's not as many people because it's it's a one-off amount.