Questions about round one offers
From over 1300 applications to the first round of the Enhanced Service Offer, over 800 Canberrans have been offered a grant to purchase an item, support or service they have identified to make a real difference to their quality of life.
Given most applicants requested grants for several items and under each of the three grant categories, how was the decision made about which request the applicant would be offered a grant for?
Within each grant type, applicants could only be offered a grant if the request was rated within the funding band. For example within the Aids, Equipment and Minor Modification (AEMM) grants, only requests which were rated scores between 17-24 could be offered a grant; within the Flexible Supports and Services (FSS) requests which were rated scores between 12-18 were able to be offered a grant ; and Quality of Life grants were only offered for requests rated 22-24.
To reach as many people as possible applicants were offered one grant each and that was generally for their priority item or their highest rated item.
Funds were allocated in this way until the advertised funding was allocated.
After round one funds were allocated, additional funds were used to enable offers to be made to people in the seven prioritised target populations who had not already been identified for a grant. Again these offers were made on the basis of the applicant’s identified priority request or their highest rated request.
There has not been any reduction to the advertised level of funds available for round two.
Can applicants decline an offer and apply in round two if they no longer require the item they were offered a round one grant for?
If round one applicants have been offered a grant for an item, support or service that they no longer require they are able to decline the Offer.
Round one applicants who do not receive a grant (regardless of whether they were offered and declined or were not offered at all) will be prioritised in round two over those who have received a round one grant.
Declining a round one offer in no way guarantees that an applicant will be successful in round two of the ESO.
Round two applicants are encouraged to refer to the Applicant Guide to ensure their application reflects and supports their priority need.
Why were applicants not given advice about why they were unsuccessful in round one?
Over 1300 people applied for a variety of grants in the first round of the Enhanced Service Offer. While we are delighted that over 800 applicants have been offered a grant for an item, support or service they have identified as making a real different to their quality of life, over 500 applicants were not successful.
With so many applications to manage it was not possible for individually tailored letters to be sent to unsuccessful applicants.
There are three primary reasons that round one applicants may not have been offered a grant:
· Regardless of the validity of the need and the quality of the submission, there were many more requests than could be funded. Not all applicants could be funded in round one and that will be the case in round two
· Insufficient information: applications need to include enough information for the panel to make a reasonable assessment of the request and for the Territory to justify allocating a grant
· The request was something that would not be likely to be funded under the NDIS
Applicants who were unsuccessful in the first round, and who would like to submit an application to the second round were encouraged to refer to the Enhanced Services Offer Application Guide; and:
· ask a service provider to review the application
· check that the request meets the selection criteria
· provide enough information for the assessing panel to consider the application (this includes giving enough information for the assessing panel to understand the applicant’s current circumstances, what they are applying for, and the difference the request will make to the applicant; and
· consider providing supporting information with the application
Second round applicants, who have not received a round one grant, will be prioritised over those who do.
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