329-page report recommends sweeping changes to scheme
The NDIS review has called for more investment in disability support services, for children in mainstream health and education settings. The review recommends a new category of support be developed for those who fall outside the NDIS.
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TVTranscript
00:00 So what we were really pleased to see out of today's report was the acknowledgement
00:05 that the NDIS can't continue to exist as it is and what we need is joint investment from
00:10 the federal government and the state governments to invest in foundational supports.
00:16 So how did it get off track with that eligibility criteria?
00:20 You know, that's a great question and I think what we saw happen over the last 10 years
00:26 or so is people with disability and families really scrambling to follow where the supports
00:31 were being provided from.
00:33 And as Australia moved from a system where states and territories were providing inconsistent
00:39 support for disability around the country to a system where the NDIS was supposed to
00:44 provide that consistency, the impact of that was that there were some people with disability
00:49 who were left behind in that transition and as a result we saw people flocking towards
00:53 the scheme but not enough services to support those who weren't eligible.
00:57 Okay, moving on to another recommendation now.
01:00 How do you feel about the one that stipulates that all providers should be enrolled or registered?
01:07 Broadly speaking, we think that this is a positive thing.
01:11 Where you have people providing supports to people with disability, it's important that
01:16 there are some safeguards in place to provide some certainty to those receiving support
01:21 that the people providing it are the right sort of people that you want to let into your
01:25 homes, into your lives, into your children's lives.
01:28 But on the other hand, we want to make sure that any registration system wouldn't act
01:32 as some sort of deterrent or barrier to people engaging in disability support so that families
01:38 and children with disability aren't left in a position where there aren't enough people
01:43 to provide support.
01:45 And now to a recommendation particularly pertinent for your organisation, a recommendation that
01:50 investment be increased into disability support services for children with developmental delays
01:57 in mainstream health and education settings.
01:59 And just explain for us practically what this means for people who are not familiar with
02:04 the NDIS.
02:05 This recommendation in relation to broadening supports available outside the NDIS for children
02:13 with developmental delay has the potential to be a real game changer.
02:17 What we know under the current system is that families can struggle to access timely supports
02:23 and timely interventions and timely diagnoses.
02:26 But if we move to a system where foundational supports are funded outside of the NDIS and
02:32 that access to those supports isn't determined based on some sort of diagnosis, we're going
02:38 to see a world where children and young people with disability are able to engage in their
02:42 mainstream community with the supports that they need rather than be segregated from their
02:47 non-disabled peers.
02:49 But is this one recommendation that you're going to really have to keep an eye on to
02:53 see if that support is sufficient?
02:57 We're going to have to keep an eye on all of the recommendations in this report.
03:01 The report really is founded on the basis that there is going to be cooperation between
03:06 the federal government and state governments and various systems.
03:10 That hasn't happened before.
03:12 So what's really important is that we don't find ourselves in 10 years' time looking at
03:16 the need for another independent review into this reformed NDIS because it wasn't achieving
03:21 the outcomes that this review aimed to.
03:23 So yes, we'll be taking a very close look at all of the recommendations and making sure
03:27 that not one single child with disability is left behind or made worse off as a result
03:32 of the changes that have been proposed.
03:35 And finally to this recommendation about trialling ways to attract and retain workers, has it
03:40 just been really difficult for some people to find the support they need because there
03:44 aren't the employees out there?
03:46 Absolutely.
03:47 Workforce challenges are an issue across Australia, but in particular in the disability community.
03:55 That's because you want to make sure that the people that you have working with you,
03:59 supporting you, share not only the same values that you do, but they are there to uphold
04:04 your rights and they're to deliver a service in a really safe, supportive and practical
04:09 way that's going to make a difference.
04:11 So it's unsurprising that currently we just haven't seen the workforce be able to achieve
04:16 all of those things for people with disability, but that's not to say that it's not possible.
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