00:00 Many Victorians will likely remember James McCready Bryan.
00:06 Almost seven or more than 17 years ago, he was out celebrating his 20th birthday when
00:11 he was the victim of a brutal, unprovoked coward punch attack which left him with catastrophic
00:17 brain injuries.
00:18 Now, for the past 13 years, James has lived at Austin Street.
00:21 It's a care home in Melbourne, which is one of very few specialist homes in Victoria,
00:26 which provide young people with acquired brain injuries with support.
00:31 It's home to 10 residents in total, many of whom have complex, severe disabilities, and
00:36 they're cared for by support workers, as well as a 24/7 registered nurse.
00:41 Now that's now likely set to change, and that's because the National Disability Insurance
00:46 Agency has made the call to cut funding for that around-the-clock registered nursing support,
00:51 telling the care home that it wasn't satisfied that it met the criteria of value for money.
00:57 Now James McCready Bryan's mother, Robin Bruin, is now vigorously opposing those changes.
01:02 She says that that registered nursing support is crucial for her son, and she's fighting
01:06 the cuts at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
01:10 Austin Street operator, Villa Maria, has also said that they're quite alarmed.
01:15 They said that going forward, their nurses will instead have to train support workers.
01:20 That's what they've been ordered to do.
01:22 And they said these support workers simply won't have the same level of medical expertise
01:27 as registered nurses, which could cause severe harm to residents, as well as more than likely
01:31 force Austin Street to close its doors.
01:34 James, as well as the other residents at Austin Street, future, would be looking really bleak.
01:42 The option for James would be early entry into a residential aged care facility, which
01:49 could be the best aged care facility in the world, but is not set up for young people,
01:55 and it's not set up for young people with catastrophic brain injury.
01:58 NDIS Minister Bill Shorten is on leave, and his office directed the ABC's questions to
02:04 the NDIS.
02:06 In a statement, the agency said that Austin Street was one of several specialist disability
02:11 accommodation providers where 24/7 nursing care was being removed.
02:16 They said that unlike previous funding arrangements, it's not designed for around-the-clock nursing
02:21 models.
02:22 And they said that throughout this period, the agency has considered the impact and ongoing
02:25 care needs of participants at every stage.
02:28 In response to this, federal MP Monique Ryan has lobbied Bill Shorten to save Austin Street's
02:34 nursing care, and she says she doesn't think that the NDIS can make any reasonable case
02:39 that the best thing for James McCready-Brian would be to not keep him at Austin Street.
02:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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