Disability advocates have raised concerns spending rules for NDIS participants are leading to outcomes that are nonsensical, and in some cases, reducing independence. It comes twelve months after the introduction of strict lists around what funds can be spent on, a key measure to slow the growth of a scheme expected to cost $52 billion this year.
00:00Michaela Crotty lives with a form of severe arthritis, making manual kitchen work both painful and dangerous.
00:10She recently applied to the NDIS to spend $2,500 on an advanced kitchen appliance to help her prepare food.
00:19It was rejected, and she was ultimately approved to spend more than $10,000 on a support worker and frozen meals.
00:28None of it really made sense to me.
00:30As well as chewing up an extra $8,000 from her plan, Michaela says the decision restricts her independence and ability to be the mum she wants to be.
00:40There are so many things that I can't do. I can't be the parent that does ice skating or camping or hiking.
00:47So cooking is a really big part of our family and it is something that I can do.
00:52The NDIS is on track to cost more than $50 billion this year.
00:57One way the government is trying to bring down costs is by restricting what participants can spend funding on.
01:04Advocates say spending rules have become too inflexible.
01:08People have come up with a really sensible solution that helps them be more independent and yet we're throwing barriers in the way of that and spending more money and money they don't want to spend on solutions that they don't want either.
01:20In a statement, the agency that runs the NDIS said household appliances are now considered everyday living items under the new rules and in some circumstances participants can apply for exemptions to have them covered.
01:33But for many people with disability, one person's everyday living item is another's assistive technology.
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