Submission No 62
INQUIRY INTO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME AND THE PROVISION OF DISABILITY SERVICES IN NEW SOUTH WALES
Name: Mr Bruce Wotton Date Received: 10 July 2018
NSW Parliament Report for NDIS experience.
Nominee: Bruce Wotton (father and Nominee of applicant).
NDIS Applicant: Coady Wotton – NDIS Number approved 29.08.2017
Background: Coady Wotton is 34 years of age living at home with my wife and I.
He has “multi” disabilities of both an intellectual and physical nature. He requires 24/7 care.
He has been assessed by NDIS for SIL’s funding for supported accommodation.
Last August my wife was diagnosed with dementia and has been interviewed by NSW Aged Care and assessed at “package Level 4”. We have not been able to arrange for necessary care until we have relocated our son into supported accommodation. Her condition is deteriorating.
NDIS Issues: Since August 2017 this family has been seeking to find our son acceptable accommodation in accordance with his “independent” needs assessments.
In Coadys NDIS plan we received funding for Support Co-Ordination and have been attempting to access “available” providers for Coady’s accommodation.
It has been apparent since our efforts to achieve Coady’s NDIS planned outcome for supported accommodation that ALL parties involved are totally confused and ill prepared for the NDIS scheme.
NDIS have varying advice and confusing contact tools which only frustrate more the efforts of this family to find the immediately required outcome for our son. Eg. Last week I contacted NDIS to advise that the “support Co-Ordinators” funds had been exhausted over the past 11 months of searching for accommodation. In fact she had been working Gratis for the past 4-5 weeks as we had identified available accommodation (which ultimately fell through because other clients either withdrew or were eligible and the Provider could not operate for the remaining Clients at a financial loss) and she wanted to complete the outcome. I was advised by NDIS that the funding review could not be done until the Plan was reviewed and that could only be done when the available accommodation was identified. In effect NDIS were saying that they would only review our Accommodation support co-ordination funding which is intended to assist us in finding accommodation when accommodation was found. When questioned about the sense of this advice I was told that’s it! There is no other available funding.
I have MANY incidents over the past year where the advice by NDIS was conflicting and as many apologies.
I also have a multitude of Provider errors in the charging, services and the implementation and understanding of the NDIS. Again followed by apologies.
If your review committee would like me to document the past year I am more than willing to do so. It would be quiet lengthy.
I have already expressed my frustration and short fallings with both my State and Federal members of Parliament. Both members responded to my cry for assistance with expressions of sorrow for our situation and the operation of NDIS but both highlighted that the “new” plan was having teething problems and they could only refer our case on.
Two weeks ago the Federal Members office rang me to advise that they had spoken to NDIS and our urgent needs were being referred to a “senior officer” of the department and somebody would be in touch. As is the norm, no contact has been made as date of this email.
The bottom line for this family is that it seems that NDIS is only interested in outcomes albeit, for self-promotion and these can easily be obtained for physically disabled or mildly intellectually disabled clients. Those of us with HIGH needs intellectually disabled family/clients are appearing to be placed in the “too hard to do file” which ultimately has dramatically changed the facilities; service; costs and future planning capacities of us carers/family who have ageing children/clients. It is blaringly obvious that the costs of NDIS has “blown out” and the now applied efforts to restrain spending has added even further to this family’s efforts to obtain support. Since NDIS was created the once Community organisations, are now “self-funded” corporations who have to survive on city based funding and facilities on a NDIS funding guide which just is not adequate.
Overall I am very disappointed in the NDIS and its lack of planning and training and the overall reduction in services available to this family since its inception. As expressed earlier I would be more than happy to detail my NDIS and services experience of the past year.
Yours Sincerely
Bruce Wotton 10th July 2018