Member for O’Connor Rick Wilson said it was “sad and disappointing” Forrest Personnel was closing. Photo: Rick Wilson MHR.
Esperance residents seeking supported employment through the NDIS will soon have fewer choices as disability employment service Forrest Personnel announces its closure due to lack of funding.
The decision comes as the Federal Government reforms the disability sector and shifts from its Disability Employment Service (DES) scheme to a new program, Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA).
Federal member for O’Connor Rick Wilson said Forrest Personnel had made a lasting difference to individuals, families and communities in WA.
“Forrest Personnel has played a vital role in supporting people with disability, injury, or illness to find and maintain meaningful employment for forty years,” Mr Rick Wilson said.
Mr Wilson said the costs of transitions often fell unfairly on vulnerable communities. “Providers in regional and remote areas need to be flexible and offer a variety of services to be sustainable and attractive as employers themselves,” Mr Wilson said. “Contract changes have a greater impact on service providers as the ability to pivot geographically or find a new niche has higher overheads.
“It is both sad and disappointing that another southwest based business must close its doors, but the team at Forrest Personnel can be proud of the many lives they have helped transform… .”
Forrest Personnel CEO Lynne Hardwood said the scope of the new contract proved unsustainable for the company.
She said all Forrest Personnel’s delivery service programs, including labour hire, trolley collection services, mental health support services and NDIS services would transition to other organisations.
“Our exceptional workplace culture has been a key point of difference at Forrest Personnel,” Ms Hardwood said.
“As such we are also committed to assisting our dedicated and valued staff transition with our programs and/or find new opportunities that draw on their invaluable expertise and deep understanding of person-centred service delivery.”
Ms Hardwood said Forrest Personnel would gradually wind down operations and close over the next two to three months, before the new government program is launched in November.
