From 1 July 2010, more than 500,000 carers across Australia will receive a $600 Carer Supplement, as part of the Australian Government’s Secure and Sustainable Pension Reform.

This payment recognises the significant challenges facing hundreds of thousands of carers who make enormous sacrifices to care for a loved one.

The annual $600 Supplement will be paid to people who receive:

• Carer Payment;
• both Wife Pension and Carer Allowance;
• both Department of Veterans’ Affairs Partner Service Pension and Carer Allowance; and
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs Carer Service pension.

The payment will also be provided to recipients of Carer Allowance for each person they care for.

This means that if a person is in receipt of Carer Allowance and Carer Payment (or Wife Pension, Department of Veterans’ Affairs Service Pension or Carer Service pension) they will qualify for two Carer Supplement payments, with an additional payment for each extra person they care for.

The annual Carer Supplement gives carers certainty about the level of assistance they receive each year, and assists with budgeting for any unforeseen costs.

Most Carer Supplement payments will be paid between Thursday 1 July and Wednesday 14 July. The annual cost of the Carer Supplement is around $440 million.

Around 135,000 carers who receive Carer Allowance (child) will also be paid the annual $1000 Child Disability Assistance Payment from 1 July for each child they care for.

Also from 1 July, the assessment process for Carer Payment (child) and Carer Allowance (child) will be streamlined.

There will now be a single assessment process for Carer Payment (child) and Carer Allowance (child), removing the requirements for more forms and medical examinations.

Carers claiming Carer Allowance (child) will also have an additional three months to re-test their eligibility for Carer Allowance (adult) once their child turns 16. This means carers will now have up to six months to be assessed.

The Government is also providing an additional $2 million in 2010-11 for emergency respite care under the Respite Support for Carers of Young People with Severe or Profound Disability Program, bringing total funding to $8.7 million next year.

The funding will provide emergency places that cater for both the needs of individual carers and the people they care for, including overnight stays in respite cottages, in-home care or time enjoying recreational activities.

This program is delivered through the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres.

People wishing to access the service can call the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre on 1800 052 222.

A scholarship program designed to give students with disabilities access to private schools using public funds is riddled with unnecessary barriers, parents and educators say.

The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program established in 2007 is praised for giving families greater choice and yielding success for students. But a slow payment system is causing financial strain for participating private schools. What’s more, limited public awareness of the program coupled with a short enrollment period means some of the students who would benefit most from the innovative scholarship are not accessing it, advocates say.

State lawmakers recently tried to make improvements to the scholarship program, but weren’t able to get a bill passed.

Advocates say that Georgia leaders should take cues from a similar program in Florida, which served more than 20,000 students in 2008-09 compared to just over 2,000 in Georgia that same year. In Florida, families can enroll in the voucher program year-round and schools are paid quarterly, reports The Gainesville (Ga.) Times