State Budget highlights 2022-23

 

Child and Family Services

• $420.2 million over 4 years and $92.2 million per annum ongoing to continue the Supporting Families Changing Futures reforms
• $2.2 billion over 5 years and $500 million per annum ongoing for out-of-home care services in response to significant, ongoing pressures arising from an increase in demand in the child protection system.
  • This funding will support a number of programs including $183.5 million over 4 years and $45.9 million per annum ongoing for the Intensive Family Support services to continue early intervention support services for families and parents who are experiencing vulnerability and have more complex needs and $66.9 million over 4 years and $16.7 million per annum ongoing for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Wellbeing Services.
• introducing historic reforms that will extend support to young people leaving care up to 21 years, with $400,000 over 4 years from 2022–23 for implementation and evaluation activities. From 2023–24, carers will continue to receive allowances for 19 to 21 year olds remaining with their foster/kinship carers, while young people aged 18 to 21 years leaving non-family based care will be mentored and supported financially by non-government organisations to live independently. Funding for allowances and support from 2023–24 is held centrally.
• $24.6 million over 4 years to continue operationalisation of the National Redress Scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in Queensland.
• $445,000 over 2 years to continue work on development of options for implementation of child safe standards and a reportable conduct scheme for Queensland.

 

Youth Justice Services

• increased funding of $75.3 million over 4 years for Youth Justice Strategy reforms through:
  • $20.9 million in funding over 4 years for Indigenous Youth and Family Workers and for Family Led Decision Making which empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in decision-making and identifying solutions to address the young person’s offending behaviour
  • funding for the Mount Isa Transitional Hub with $7.4 million over 4 years which diverts young people from the youth justice system by responding to young people on the streets at night who are at risk of reoffending
  • expanding the number of locations from 8 to 14 for the state-wide Multi-agency Collaborative Panels
  • recurrent funding of $7.4 million per annum from 2022–23 to address the pressures in the youth justice detention centres to allow for a more sustainable permanent staffing model
• $3 million for a Community Partnership Innovation Grant scheme to partner with local communities on crime prevention projects focussed on young people who are, or could become, repeat offenders.
• $1.5 million over three years for the Gendered Response to Bail Support Service for girls and young women aged 10-17 years at risk of being remanded into custody.

 

Education

• increased funding of $263 million over 4 years from 2022–23 and $77 million per year ongoing to support kindergarten funding reform to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for families, increase disability funding and implement educational need funding for children in Queensland attending a kindergarten
• $80.6 million over 3 years from 2022–23 to support schools transition to a new resourcing model for students with disability
• $15.5 million over 3 years to support the development of respectful relationships education materials and provide professional development and support to schools to embed the respectful relationships education program, forming part of the government’s total funding package of $363 million over 5 years to respond to the first report of the Queensland Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, Hear her voice – Report one – Addressing coercive control and domestic and family violence in Queensland
• $13.3 million in 2022–23 to expand the Share the Dignity in Queensland Schools initiative to fund the installation of Dignity Vending Machines in all state schools, outdoor education centres and student residential facilities.

 

Seniors

• increased funding of $12.2 million over the next 4 years and $2.8 million ongoing to support Seniors in Queensland, including to expand elder abuse services provided under the Seniors Legal and Support Services program to ensure Queenslanders will have equitable access to these important services.

 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities

• $3 million over 2 years to support First Nations families to make applications for legal recognition of Torres Strait Islander traditional child rearing practices by continuing to operationalise the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa (Torres Strait Islander Child Rearing Practice) Act 2020
• $1.5 million in 2022–23 to support local communities with their Alcohol Management Plans focused on addressing sly grog and homebrew and implementing local programs and services
• $5 million over the next 4 years to implement initiatives agreed under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and improve life outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders, including supporting 19 remote and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to develop local employment and economic development plans
• $2.4 million over 4 years to 2024–25 for the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Coalition to undertake research and consultation and provide expert and strategic advice to ensure co-design of strategies and actions, to implement the Closing the Gap National Agreement’s key priorities and targets
• $16.7 million across the forward estimates and $4.4 million ongoing for addressing Land Administration requirements and strategic land and Infrastructure program planning initiatives in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, including enabling homeownership opportunities.

 

Domestic and Family Violence

• $291 million over 4 years, including $21.3 million for Legal Aid Queensland and $22.9 million held centrally, as part of a total funding package of $363 million to deliver a Queensland Government response to the Queensland Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce report, Hear her voice – Report one – Addressing coercive control and domestic and family violence in Queensland.

 

Health

• additional funding of $6.784 billion over 4 years to support the ongoing growth in demand for health and ambulance services
• $1.645 billion and a capital investment of $28.5 million over 5 years for Queensland Health’s new 5-year plan for Queensland’s state funded mental health, alcohol and other drugs services and for a range of initiatives to improve the mental health, alcohol and other drugs system of care and support, which is to be funded by a new mental health levy proposed to commence from 1 January 2023.

Note: The 2022-23 Budget investment in new hospitals and new beds is the largest in Queensland’s history, with additional funding of $9.785 billion over 6 years. The new hospitals and hospital expansion projects announced in the Budget will deliver 2,509 extra beds in addition to the 869 beds being delivered through current expansion projects. This builds on the 1,350 additional beds that have opened since 2015.

 

Communities, Housing and Homelessness

• $21.9 million in 2022–23, as part of total program funding of $125.6 million over 4 years to strengthen the community and social service sector with a focus on elevating the role and functioning of neighbourhood and community centres, and to support delivery of the government’s response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Social Isolation and Loneliness. Across the 4 years funding has been provided for:
  • $51.8 million to increase neighbourhood and community centre base operational funding, ensuring the ongoing viability and maximum benefit from this important part of our social services infrastructure
  • $9.3 million for the Neighbourhood and Community Connect Worker program in areas of greatest need
  • $39 million for the construction of new neighbourhood and community centres and significant redevelopments of existing centres
  • $9 million for neighbourhood and community centre capital upgrades program
  • $4 million for a new Innovation Fund that will support the delivery of community-led responses to local issues, with a focus on responding to the causes and impacts of social isolation and loneliness
  • $2.1 million to support the further development of plans and initiatives to address social isolation and loneliness, including development of training and resources to support workers and volunteers in the community and social services sector.
• $2.8 million met internally by the department in 2022–23, as part of total program funding of $29.8 million over 4 years to support initiatives to address youth homelessness in Queensland.

 

Capital outlays – Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs
The capital program for the department is $51.7 million in 2022–23. These funds provide the infrastructure and systems to support children, young people and families to be safe and help prevent and respond to crime, violence, abuse and neglect. This includes:

• $27.8 million in 2022–23 of $63.7 million total funding for Unify (Integrated Client Management System (ICMS) Replacement Program) to strengthen information sharing and collaboration across Queensland Government, social services and justice sectors
• $10.4 million to conduct ongoing program renewal and minor works to Youth Detention centres and Youth Justice service centres
• $8.4 million for Child and Family Services facilities including fit out and upgrade of office accommodation and Child Safety service centres and upgrades to Residential Care properties
• $2.5 million out of a total $3.5 million capital grant to establish a Holocaust Museum and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane to honour victims of the Holocaust and support students and the broader community to explore and understand the impact of racism
• $1.7 million for annual essential capital replacement to replace IT infrastructure that is at end of life
• $1 million to enhance and develop information systems and ICT programs to provide additional system functionality, information security, and provide contemporary technology to improve service delivery.