Latest updates from four perspectives
You can get different impressions of the NDIS depending on the source. Here we present updates from the National Disability Insurance Agency who run the scheme, People With Disability Australia, the Federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner and finally Every Australian Counts.
The National Disability Insurance Agency
A report on the sustainability of the NDIS, released in mid-August, shows the average cost of individualised NDIS support packages in the first year of the scheme was $34,600 — within the funding expectation of $35,000.
Key findings of the report on the four trial sites in the Hunter (NSW), Barwon (VIC), South Australia and Tasmania include:
- Participant satisfaction remains very high at 1.66 on a scale of -2 (very poor) to +2 (very good).
- 8,585 people have been found eligible for the NDIS, with 7,316 having approved individualised support plans in place by the end of June.
- The average package cost in the first year of the scheme is $34,600, down from $40,500 in the first six months, and below the funding expectation of $35,000.
- More than $130 million is estimated to have been committed to NDIS participants in 2013-14.
Read the latest NDIS newsletter published 1 September 2014.
NDIS rollout plan timeline in doubt with some advocating for delay
The president of People With Disability Australia, Craig Wallace, says that there is nothing in the KPMG review of the NDIS that would justify a delay in its rollout. He said that the issues raised in the report were not new and were not a reason for the government to delay the rollout of the NDIS. “I don’t believe this report provides rationale in delaying the scheme and I would be disappointed and surprised if it were used to justify a delay,” Wallace said.
“It does point out a number of issues that are known from within the trial sites and they should be manageable.”
Comments from the outgoing Federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner
Outgoing Federal Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, said in a recent radio interview “the government’s record in employment of people with disabilities has dropped from 5.8 per cent of the public service about 15 years ago, to 2.9 per cent, and it’s shameful, it’s a shameful record.”
He also used his farewell speech to condemn the ‘lifters, not leaners’ slogan used by Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey, explaining the challenges people with disabilities face seeking to become ‘lifters’.
Every Australian Counts
The number of people now being supported by the NDIS in the trial sites around Australia has grown to more than 7,300 and good stories are flooding in, telling of lives transformed.
We believe that slowing down the NDIS rollout is not an option. People living outside the launch sites need more support, not a longer waiting list for the NDIS.
It is critical that the NDIS development is driven by voices from the disability community.
We want your stories
If you participate in the NDIS, or have a story about the Disability Support Pension, tell us about your experiences by sending us an e-mail. We will publish responses here on the website.