Full Government commitment is essential
John Della Bosca, on behalf of the Every Australian Counts campaign team writes …
On Australia Day three years ago we started something amazing. The Every Australian Counts campaign united the disability community like never before. We built a movement to transform the disability system and convinced our Parliament and our nation that Australia needed the NDIS.
The first trial phase of the NDIS began in July 2013, with the scheme due to roll out nationwide from July 2016.
But there is still work to do to truly make every Australian count. Here are the top 3 priorities:
1. The NDIS must be fully funded to reach every Australian who needs it. The Federal Government must be accountable – there can be no wavering from Parliament’s commitment to the full NDIS.
2. The NDIS must meet people’s needs and aspirations. It must ensure real choice and control, with participants and their families front and centre in its design and operation.
3. The NDIS must be the catalyst for broad change, so Australians with disability have the same opportunities to live, work, learn and socialise as everyone else.
Through your hard work we brought the NDIS from recommendation to reality. In every electorate our MPs listened, showing that that numbers really do count.
To secure the best possible NDIS for the future, we firstly need more Australians to support our campaign.
In 2014 the Every Australian Counts campaign will keep monitoring the development and security of the NDIS. We will ensure your knowledge and lived experience shapes our campaign and delivers the messages our politicians and public need to hear.
Thank you for your continued support – together we will make the NDIS real for every Australian.
National Disability Insurance Agency
The National Disability Insurance Agency, the federal government body charged with implementing the scheme, issued their 5th newsletter in December 2013, and their 6th in February 2014 in which Agency CEO, David Bowen says:
“We are now looking forward to building on the first six months’ experience in the 2013 trial sites as we continue preparations for three new sites that launch on 1 July: the Barkly area of the NT, the ACT and the Perth Hills area of Western Australia.
It is clear from the first half-year of our operations that we are beginning to make significant differences to the lives of people with disability, their families and carers. In each of our four trial sites there is strong evidence from the personal stories of Scheme participants that the individualised support arrangements we are putting in place lead to better outcomes.
The feedback we receive from participants is overwhelmingly positive.”