Submission No 213
INQUIRY INTO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME AND THE PROVISION OF DISABILITY SERVICES IN NEW SOUTH WALES
Name: Name suppressed Date Received: 8 August 2018
Partially Confidential
This is only a quick submission, as I only found out about the Inquiry last week – it has not been well-publicised.
I am 46 years old, have been in a wheelchair for 23 years and worked in the community care industry for 20 years. Despite my knowledge and networks in disability in NSW [including roles on several Boards and committees], the previous State system provided me with little help and, with only ageing parents assisting me, I faced the dilemma of very soon either leaving fulltime work or spending all my earnings on private services. Either way, I could not have hoped to be able to reach my full potential.
I routinely skipped meals before, because I was exhausted by the end of each day and physically limited in my ability to cut fresh food for cooking etc. I also began having falls when transferring to/from my wheelchair and my 72 year old mum was coming to my place at 6.30 am to help me get ready for work and do my washing. I could only get 1.5 hours per fortnight of domestic assistance, and it took several years and ADHC intervention to even get that happening on a weekend, to save me rearranging my work to go home for a 3.30 pm service [the most flexible on offer].
The NDIS has changed my life! I am free of the worries about my future, as are mum and dad.
With workers in place 4 mornings a week, I have a new job [6 months in] as a Manager of a small NGO which specialises in social support for frail aged people, which I always wanted to do. I eat breakfast [which I had not done in 17 years due to time and energy constraints] and have salads, homemade pies and other baked items to take to work, so I save money and I eat a healthy lunch and dinner every day.
I know that I have the advantage of a clear and obvious disability, and language skills to articulate my needs, which are both necessary for success in an NDIS journey. I also have the intellectual capacity for work and social inclusion, for which the NDIS was designed. People tell me I am lucky, but there is nothing fortunate about my disability – the individualised funding of the NDIS is just the right model for me. I likewise believe that the block-funded service system suited people who, through no fault of their own, lack productive capacity. And some things, like advocacy and group programs, simply can’t be individualised.
I therefore urge a partial rollback to the old system, to pick up people who have needs that the NDIS cannot meet – but please don’t take it away from people like me, for whom it works.
Thanks