An overhaul of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is required if Australians living with disability are to gain more choice and control over what services they receive, a landmark report has revealed.
Speaking at the National Press Club on Dec. 7, Disability Minister Bill Shorten said the NDIS Review—released on Dec. 7, and came with 26 recommendations and 139 actions—will achieve three objectives.
“One, put people with disability back at the centre of the NDIS; two, restore trust and confidence and pride in the NDIS; and three, ensure the sustainability of the scheme for future generations,” Mr. Shorten said.
“We must ensure the NDIS experience is centred around the whole person and their disability-related support needs,” the report read.
Additionally, the review suggested removing automatic access as it had led to “inequity, with some participants automatically eligible while others are not and favouring those with means to obtain a diagnosis.”
It found that applicants were forced to present the worst versions of themselves if they wanted to receive support. As a consequence, many of the medical diagnoses that guarantee access to the scheme will be phased out within five years.
Moreover, the report found that many of the 631,000 Australians under the scheme relied on the NDIS as the dominant, and sometimes only, source of support.
‘Significant Moment in Australian History’: Bill Shorten
Mr. Shorten said the report marked a “significant moment in Australian history,” especially for those living with disabilities and their families. The NDIS will endure cost blowouts forecast to rise to $97 billion by 2032-33.“The objectives of the review were to restore trust, ensure sustainability and give participants a better experience and more control, by making the NDIS more about people and less about bureaucracy through greater equity, transparency and consistency,” he said.
“It is important that Australians understand changes are not going to happen overnight and any reforms adopted by the Albanese government will be developed with the disability community to ensure a better NDIS.”
Among the recommendations are “foundational supports,” which will be aimed at all 2.5 million Australians with a disability under the age of 65, regardless of whether they are on the NDIS.
There are two types of foundational supports—“general support” such as assistance to navigate the disability system or peer advocacy, and “targeted support” such as personal assistance.
Those who are in need of more individualised support can then access NDIS-funded modalities such as home modification and assistive technology.
The costs of these additional measures are unclear.
“So let me be clear, our reforms are designed to ensure that every dollar of NDIS support gets through to those for whom the scheme was created,” Mr. Shorten said.
“The review panel heard that when the NDIS works, it changes lives, literally hundreds of thousands of lives, for the better.
“But it could work more transparently, more equitably, and more consistently.”
The report has suggested a five-year implementation window for its review.
A coalition of disability advocacy groups has welcomed the review and called for its recommendations to be implemented immediately.
“We are also clear that continued access to support for people with disability is necessary and non-negotiable,” their statement read.
“Any changes to how support is provided, either inside or outside the scheme, must not lead to any gaps in the support we receive.”
A full government response to the review is expected to be released in 2024.
