During the next three years, the NDIS is set to support up to 460,000 Australians with a disability, providing major changes for families and communities right around the country.
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Since its commencement in 2013, the NDIS has given many people with a disability the power to live lives of their own choosing, whether that be through support with daily living, social engagement, therapy, aids, employment support or skills development.
The scheme is rightly heralded as the end to inadequate disability support services and the start of long-awaited tailored individual supports.
It has even done the unthinkable — uniting all sides of Parliament in a shared commitment to uphold the human rights of people with a disability.
On-the-ground experience with more than 500 early NDIS participants has been positive.
However, these successes have come at considerable cost; passionate supporters of the NDIS have grappled with implementation and design flaws that put the scheme's long-term success at risk.
Flaws such as a one-size-fits-all fixed-pricing model, requiring all registered providers to charge the same low price for many services based on commoditised inputs (mostly labour hours), irrespective of quality or the outcomes achieved.
Flaws such as the severe limitations on the vertical integration of services, forcing participants to use different organisations for different types of services, irrespective of their personal preferences or the inefficiencies of doing so.
Flaws like the apparent unwillingness to fund employment supports for participants.
Barely one in ten scheme participants is being supported to gain and keep employment, despite this being a core economic and social justification of the NDIS.
Flaws such as a chronic shortage of affordable housing, meaning that by 2020 up to 122,000 NDIS participants may have no appropriate place to live.
These flaws must be fixed, or people with disability will miss out once again.
The good news is there's strong commitment and goodwill still being expressed by all stakeholders - people with disability, governments, agencies and service providers - to collaborate and get things right.
The bad news is that, increasingly, the rhetoric not being matched by actions.
The recent major failure of new NDIS portal providers is a sad example.
People with a disability, service providers, small businesses and individual traders have all struggled with the consequences of a failed booking and payment system. This isn't good enough
Right now, the NDIS we're witnessing is a very different to the one we were promised.
The NDIS structure prohibits participants from purchasing value-adding services, or fewer, more expensive supports at the same total cost – even if they offer to pay for the expenses out of their own pockets.
This version of the NDIS is driving workforce casualisation, deskilling and subcontract labour models as organisations seek to fit within artificial price points by circumventing the provisions of the SCHADSI Award.
This is not good enough for people with a disability, workers, service providers or the NDIS itself.
I care too much about the NDIS to stand by and watch this happen.
The reality is, not all participants want a Tarago van full of different suppliers in their lives, and not all participants prioritise low prices over quality outcomes.
People with disability are not a "one-size-fits-all" group, and should not be treated as if they are.
Instead they should be allowed to choose the services and supports that work best for them, and to source them on their own terms.
The more power consumers have, the better the outcomes and the lower the total costs of the scheme.
I congratulate all sides of parliament on their commitment to the full roll out of the NDIS; I urge them to play a stronger leadership role in shaping the way the scheme works and acting urgently to resolve its problems and barriers.
With the right focus, people and frameworks in place, the NDIS will finally give Australians with a disability the support, choice and flexibility they deserve. So let's all get to work, and get it right.
Ten questions to ask in your NDIS planning meeting:
1. How will the plan be sent to me?
2. Does it matter if I don't have a computer or use email?
3. If I remember something AFTER this meeting or want to send you some extra information, how do I send it to you (e.g. an assessment from an Occupational Therapist or a quote for equipment)? How do I contact you if I need to check anything?
4. Will I be able to review the plan before it is finalised?
5. How long after my planning meeting will I receive my final plan?
6. What if something is missing from my plan? Who do I call, what can I do, what is the process of appeal? Do I have to accept my plan if I am not happy with it?
7. Who will help me understand my plan (e.g. what does my plan mean, how can I use the funds allocated in each section)?
8. What is a support co-ordinator and will I be funded for this?
9. What is a plan of management?
10. Once I have my plan, how long do I have to make a decision about who will provide my support/select providers while still receiving my current supports (eg how long can I continue to receive current supports until I have to sign a service agreement?) Do my current supports stop the day I receive my plan unless I sign a service agreement?