Submission No 222
INQUIRY INTO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME AND THE PROVISION OF DISABILITY SERVICES IN NEW SOUTH WALES
Name: Ms Dianne Chain Date Received: 9 August 2018
The Director, Portfolio Committee No.2-Health and Committee Services.
Parliamentary Inquiry into the implementation of the NDIS and the provision of disability services in New South Wales.
I wish to express my concerns relating to the implementation of the NDIS and the privatisation of The NSW State Government Disability Services.
Unfortunately, following the NSW’s privatisation of Disability Services, I have witnessed the direct impact that this has had on people with disability, their carers and service providers.
As a NSW State Government employee who was forcibly transferred to a Non-Government Organisation (NGO), it is with considerable distress that I report my concerns relating to the implementation of the NDIS to a system that clearly is unable to cope with the high volume of referrals and the demands of those many participants with complex support needs.
Working for an organisation that puts profits ahead of people is a huge adjustment to make and has challenged my professional integrity and that of many of my colleagues on a daily basis. The demise of the Case Management role as a consequence of the NDIA not recognising or acknowledging the importance of this role has forced many Case Managers with specialised skills and experience out of the sector.
As a consequence of the changed roles of Case Managers, many NDIS participants with complex support needs and their carers will no longer receive the specialised support that they were accessing when Ageing, Disability and Homecare (ADHC) were providing this service, which was clearly based on needs not determined by the individual’s funding.
Furthermore, due to the constant battle for participants to receive adequate funding, coupled with the continued delays and constant reviews required to support such requests, participants, their carers and service providers are subject high levels of stress and frustration. This often results in participants receiving less funding then they previously received and only serves to increase the despair and ill feeling directed at a scheme that is unsustainable and demoralising for many.
The privatisation of the NSW State Disability Services has effectively absolved this Government’s responsibility to people with disability and removed an effective safety net for those people with complex support needs. Although, ADHC was not without fault, it was a service of last resort that no longer is available to provide support to this State’s most vulnerable people with disability and complex support needs.
Kind regards Dianne Chain Former Case Manager The Benevolent Society.