Non-profit organisation Multiple Sclerosis SA & NT has gone into voluntary administration.
In an email to donors, supporters and partners, the organisation — which supports almost 3,000 clients living with multiple sclerosis — said that the “difficult decision” included its disability employment arm, Multiple Solutions.
“This difficult decision follows a period of significant challenges, including changes to the NDIS, the outcome of the recent Inclusive Employment Australia tender, and a decline in lottery sales which have long helped fund our services,” the email said.
“We are currently working with administrators from Heard Phillips Lieberenz who are continuing to trade the organisation while they explore every possible option to retain vital support services for people in South Australia and the Northern Territory living with multiple sclerosis.”
The email also thanked supporters and said further updates would be provided in the future.
According to the MS Society SA & NT annual report for 2023-2024 the organisation had 2,985 clients, which was 150 more clients than the previous financial year.
MS Society SA & NT has about 3,000 clients living with multiple sclerosis. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)
The move comes as disability support service and employer Bedford announced in July that it was planning to go into voluntary administration, before the South Australian government stepped in with a $15 million lifeline.
Last week, Federal Minister for Health, Ageing and Disability Mark Butler said he was “not blasé about the depths of the financial challenge” facing Bedford, while Premier Peter Malinauskas said “the financial position of Bedford was even more dire than what we expected”.
Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease that progressively damages nerves, making it increasingly difficult for the brain and the body to communicate.
There is no known single cause of MS and there is no cure.
‘Tough year financially’
The MS Society SA & NT 2023-24 annual report noted the organisation had a “tough year financially” during that period, due to factors including the loss of its home lottery program.
“The cost-of-living crisis has impacted our other fundraising programs and lowered the financial performance of Multiple Solutions’ program,” the report said.
Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease which has no cure. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)
In the report, then chief executive Janine Jackson — who left the organisation at the end of last year — said Multiple Solutions had “faced market pressure, including tighter conditions, increased competition, changes in government funding and rising costs”.
“Despite these challenges, we are committed to securing new opportunities to adapt to the current market,” she said in the report.
A spokesperson from the federal Department of Social Services said the tender process for the new Inclusive Employment Australia (IEA) model contracts was conducted at “arms length from government” and acknowledged that “changeovers can be difficult”.
“The tender documents were consulted on extensively with the sector, and the tender was overseen by independent procurement and probity experts,” the spokesperson said.
In a separate statement, a federal health spokesperson said MS Society SA & NT was “well known to many in the SA community, especially through their lottery sales”.
“This is the first the government has heard of them going into voluntary administration,” the spokesperson said.
“The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing will engage with MS SA and NT for further information.”
The ABC has made attempts to contact the organisation, while SA Minister for Human Services Nat Cook was not available for comment.
