Minutes of the Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS Meeting 1 — 27 July | FOI document library

DOCUMENT 38 oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

Minutes of the Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS

Meeting 1 — 27 July 1.30pm to 4.30pm, hosted on MS Teams

Members

Ms Robyn Kruk AO (Principal Member) Ms Leah van Poppel (Deputy Chair) Ms Kerry Allan-Zinner

Dr Sharon Boyce

Ms Jennifer Cullen

Dr Leighton Jay

Ms Sylvana Mahmic

Ms Tricia Malowney OAM

Mr James Manders

Ms Sam Paior

Ms Liz Reid AM

Mr Mark Tonga

Expert Adviser

Dr Ben Gaunitlett, Disability Discrimination Commissioner

NDIA Representatives

Mr Martin Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer

Mr Oliver Bladek, Deputy CEO, Design, Digital and Strategy

Ms Nicole Glazebrook, Chief Financial Officer

Dr Sam redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Policy, Advice and Research

Mr Alex redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Digital

Mr Trent redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Agency Policy

Ms Fiona redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Director, Independent Advisory Council

Ms Marina redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Assistant Director, Independent Advisory Council

Ms Lirije redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Assistant Director Communications, Independent Advisory Council

Ms Jaklin redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Senior Project Officer, Independent Advisory Council

Attending

Ms Belinda redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material AM, Council’s Independent Consultant

Apologies

Mrs Judy Huett

Delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency 1

OFFRagEL! SENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

to the indis|

1. Principal Member’s welcome and open

1.1.Principal Member’s welcome

The Principal Member opened the meeting at 1.33pm.

The Principal Member acknowledged the Traditional Owners of the lands on which Members, Expert Adviser and attendees were meeting.

The Principal Member noted an apology from Mrs Huett who was unable to attend the meeting.

The Principal Member:

noted the letter each Member received from Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, Minister for the NDIS, acknowledging her appreciation for Council’s advice on Strengthening Scheme Reforms;
advised that a letter was sent on behalf of Council to Graeme Head, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission when he finished his appointment at the end of June 2021. Noting, once a new appointment is confirmed, we will invite the new Commissioner to a meeting;
expressed thanks to Mr Hoffman for his response to Council’s letter, acknowledging his commitment to closer collaboration with Council and the disability community.

The Principal Member also noted the following additional information available in the Resource Centre on Diligent:

Participant Reference Group meeting report from Ms Allan-Zinner
Ms Malowney’s report on issues heard in the community
Report from Dr Jay and Ms Paior on their visit to Cairns to join Ms Cullen in Reconciliation Week events.
Issues heard in the community reports from Dr Jay and Ms Reid from the June Council meeting, as per the action register.

redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material

Out of Session meeting reports from Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material on recent consultations with Council / Reference Group subgroups on

Access Policy Consultation
Participant Decision Guides (Employment)
Complex Support Needs Review.

Action 1: The Secretariat to circulate the report from Dr Jay and Ms Paior to Scott McNaughton and Martin Hoffman, for their information.

National Disability Insurance Agency P

OFFRegSL! BENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

ee indis)

1.2. Minutes, matters arising and declarations of interest

Council noted the updated register of conflicts of interest circulated in advance of the meeting.

redacted: s47F - personal privacy

The Principal Member advised that redacted: s47F - personal privacy change to the minutes after they were distributed.

Council approved the minutes from the meeting held on 22 June 2021, noting the amendment and noted the matters arising.

1.3. CEO update

Mr Hoffman discussed the outcomes from the recent Disability Reform Ministers’ Meeting (DRMM), confirming Independent Assessments (IAs) will not go ahead. Mr Hoffman advised Management are currently working through what this means for the Scheme, particularly in relation to simplified planning, the role of Local Area Coordinators (LAC) and flexible funding. He noted the interdependencies between proposed Scheme reforms and IAs.

Members acknowledged the hard work and effort of NDIA staff who worked tirelessly on developing IAs and the Scheme reform proposals over an extended period, and requested Mr Hoffman pass on their appreciation.

Mr Hoffman discussed with Members the Agency’s continued focus on improving the Scheme as outlined in the Participant Service Charter and Participant Service Improvement Plan. He noted the revised NDIA Corporate Plan 2021-2025 aligns well with Council’s work and committed to share it once endorsed by the Board.

Members thanked Mr Hoffman for his letter and commitment to working collaboratively with Council and the disability community on improving the Scheme for the future.

Ms Van Poppel discussed the initial meeting with the Agency on progressing the development of the partnership agreement, including:

proposed structure of how we should engage in the community
understanding the nature of co-design

National Disability Insurance Agency 3

OFFRegSL! SENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

to the indis|

Ms Van Poppel noted further discussions were planned, a news bulletin would be released to ensure transparency, and engagement more broadly with the disability community on development would occur.

2. Members’ Reports

2.1. Council reports on issues heard in their communities

Council Members raised the following concerns they had heard related to the NDIS:

Relief in the community that IAs are not going ahead, and excitement around co-design opportunities
Concerns about reduction of plan funding after plan review
Lack of home and living supports for people who don’t qualify for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA)
Delays on COVID-19 vaccine rollout for people with a disability, disability support workers and disability service providers
Disability workforce issues:
- systemic workforce shortages further impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns
- workers leaving the disability sector for other industries, particularly support coordinators
- capacity of small organisations to retain staff and essential services in comparison with larger providers
- worker screening checks — delays and rejections. Members noted this is a particular disadvantage in rural and remote areas where workers may have a criminal history
Concerns with service provider pricing for NDIS participants versus general public. Members highlighted the significant increase in cost if you mention NDIS
Concerns that only Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT will implement minimum accessibility standards for new constructions under the National Construction Code (NCC)
Lack of service accessibility in rural and remote areas
Lack of support for people in the justice system to access the NDIS and understand the funded supports which could assist them when leaving those settings.

3. NDIS Payments

3.1. NDIA Payment Strategy

National Disability Insurance Agency 4

OFFRagSL! SENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

a indis)

Mr Bladek provided Council with an overview of the NDIA Payment Strategy, particularly the proposed changes to the claims and payment processes.

Mr Bladek sought feedback from Council on the overall Strategy and encouraged Member views on implementation.

Members stressed the importance of clear and transparent communications on potential impacts to those who self-manage, given the current community concern around the continuation of self- management

Council raised the need to continue with manual options, in addition to the NDIS App, for those participants who prefer to manage their plans manually. Members said people with an intellectual disability will be most impacted if the NDIS App is the only option.

Council reaffirmed the need to ensure the Strategy promotes innovation, flexibility and choice and control for participants to determine how they spend their plans.

Members thanked Mr Bladek for the overview, and were keen to work with the team to provide further input.

Action 2: Establish out of session subgroup to work with the Agency on the NDIA Payment Strategy.

4. Council Priorities

4.1. Council’s 2021-22 Work Plan

Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material provided Council with an overview of the endorsed Reference Group priorities for 2021-2023.

The Principal Member advised that the Reference Groups’ priorities are finalised, acknowledging each Co-Chair and Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material for their work. The Principal Member noted how these priorities will link to Council’s 2021-22 Work Plan and align with the NDIA Corporate Plan 2021- 2025.

Council discussed potential topics for formal and informal advice to be included in their Work Plan for 2021-22. The Principal Member thanked Members for their input and confirmed the Council Work Plan will be finalised out of session.

5. Meeting close

5.1. Other Business

Nil.

5.2. Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled 23 August 2021 from 1.30pm-4.30pm.

National Disability Insurance Agency 5

OFFRegSL! SENSAFVE

FOI 24/25-0546 BOSUMENT a2

Independent Advisory Council

OFFICIAL

AGENDA

INDEPENDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL TO THE NDIS

Meeting 2 of 2021-22 Date: Monday 23 August 2021 Log-in details:

Independent Advisory Council Meeting

redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material

SESSION 1: PRINCIPAL MEMBER’S WELCOME & OPEN 1.30pm-1.45pm

ITEM 1.1 Principal Member’s welcome

ITEM 1.2 Confirmation of minutes, matters arising and declaration of interest

ITEM 1.3 CEO Update SESSION 2: COUNCIL REPORTS 1.45pm-2.15pm

ITEM 2.1 Members and Expert Advisers: Reports ‘from the ground’ Break 2.15 — 2.30pm

SESSION 3: PSYCHOSOCIAL DISABILITY 2.30pm-3.15pm

ITEM 3.1 Psychosocial Disability Recovery Framework

NDIA Representative: Gerry redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Strategic Adviser Psychosocial Disability SESSION 4: CO-DESIGN 3.15pm-4.15pm

ITEM 4.1 Partnership agreement progress

NDIA Representative: Jamie redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager Communications & Engagement & Sam redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Policy Advice and Research

SESSION 5: MEETING CLOSE 4.15pm-4.30pm

ITEM 5.1 Other business ITEM 5.2 Next meeting

Delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency

PaQGFHEMuko2

OF FGA? SENSMVE POcuMENT 40

Independent Advisory Council

Minutes of the Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS

Meeting 2 — 23 August 2021 1.30pm to 4.30pm, hosted on MS Teams

Members

Ms Robyn Kruk AO (Principal Member) Ms Leah van Poppel (Deputy Chair) Ms Kerry Allan-Zinner

Dr Sharon Boyce

Ms Jennifer Cullen

Mrs Judy Huett

Dr Leighton Jay

Ms Sylvana Mahmic

Ms Tricia Malowney OAM

Mr James Manders

Ms Sam Paior

Ms Liz Reid AM

Mr Mark Tonga

Expert Adviser

Dr Ben Gauntlett, Disability Discrimination Commissioner

NDIA Representatives

Mr Martin Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer

Mr Oliver Bladek, Deputy CEO, Design, Digital and Strategy

Dr Sam redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Policy, Advice and Research

Ms Jamie redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Communications and Engagement

Mr Trent redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Agency Policy

Mr Gerry redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Strategic Advisory, Psychosocial Disability

Ms Erin redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Director, Mental Health

Ms Fiona redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Director, Independent Advisory Council

Ms Marina redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Secretariat, Independent Advisory Council

Ms Hannah redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Assistant Director, Independent Advisory Council

Ms Lirije redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Assistant Director Communications, Independent Advisory Council

Ms Jaklin redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Senior Project Officer, Independent Advisory Council

Attending

Ms Belinda redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material AM, Council’s Independent Consultant

Ms Rebecca redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Support

Apologies

Nil

National Disability Insurance Agency 1

OFFRegSL! BENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

ee indis)

1. Principal Member’s welcome and open

1.1. Principal Member’s welcome

The Principal Member opened the meeting at 1.32pm.

The Principal Member acknowledged the Traditional Owners of the lands on which Members, Expert Adviser and attendees were meeting.

The Principal Member:

expressed thanks to Members involved in initial work on the Partnership Agreement, noting further details would be discussed later in the meeting;
advised Council’s 2021-2022 Work Plan will progress to Board for endorsement and thanked all Members for their valuable input;
noted changes within the Council Secretariat team:
- welcomed Hannah redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material to the team, who will coordinate and facilitate the Agency Response to Council’s Formal Advice. Hannah will work very closely with Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Council and Reference Groups through the formal advice development and ensure all relevant business areas are involved in the response
- farewelled Marina redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material who is going on maternity leave at the end of the month — thanking her for all her support and effort and wishing her well for the next chapter. Carly redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material will be taking over Marina’s role while she is on leave.

The Principal Member noted the following additional information available in the Resource Centre on Diligent:

Participant Reference Group meeting report from Ms Malowney
Out of Session meeting report from Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material on the Partnership Agreement.

1.2. Minutes, matters arising and declarations of interest

Council noted the updated register of conflicts of interest circulated in advance of the meeting.

redacted: s47F - personal privacy

Council approved the minutes from the meeting held on 27 July 2021 and noted the matters arising.

1.3. CEO update

National Disability Insurance Agency 2.

OFFRagSL! BENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

a indis)

Mr Hoffman acknowledged the current COVID-19 conditions across Australia and the impact of these on Members, staff and participants.

Mr Hoffman discussed the Agency’s response to recent COVID-19 outbreaks to ensure participants are supported, including:

re-direction of staff from non-participant facing areas
Outbreak Management Teams (OMT) established on diagnosis
open communication between Providers to share information, capabilities and workforce
working collaboratively with the health and disability sectors to resolve issues associated with infection control

Mr Hoffman advised the exposure draft legislation is currently with the Prime Minister and would be released to States and Territories and Council in the coming weeks (prior to public release), for commentary. Mr Hoffman also advised the Safeguards Bill was currently in Parliament, noting Samantha redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Acting Commissioner of the NDIS Commission is happy to provide a briefing to Members if they are interested.

Mr Hoffman discussed with Members the Agency’s continued focus on improving the Scheme, noting recent consultations with subgroups of Council on Complex Support Needs and Home and Living to progress this work.

Members thanked Mr Hoffman for his update and open discussions, noting Ms Paior and Ms Boyce requested to provide input into the Complex Support Needs review.

Action 1: Secretariat to add Ms Paior and Ms Boyce to the Complex Support Needs review subgroup

Action 2: Secretariat to reach out to Members to confirm interest in briefing on the Safeguards Bill.

2. Members’ Reports

2.1. Council reports on issues heard in their communities

Council Members raised the following concerns they had heard related to the NDIS:

Relief in the community that Independent Assessments (IA) are not going ahead. Some disability communities are still seeking reassurance any future model will align with assessment requirements under the Act, ensuring consistency and equity of access and planning outcomes.
Lack of long term, affordable and flexible Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) to enable independent living for participants and the ability to own their own home, particularly those with extreme functional impairment
Thin markets and inadequate service availability concerns, leading to participant needs not being met, particularly with support coordination

National Disability Insurance Agency 3

OFFRagsL! SENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

a indis)

Concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on participants
- Access to vaccination for communities in rural and remote areas
- Service and support interruptions for early intervention for children
- Lack of available resources for parents to guide them through accessing supports for their children during this time
- Service and support issues for some participants, and the need for greater flexibility in plans at this time
Concerns with disability workforces shortages, further impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and the availability of working visas
Concerns with extended delays to plan approvals, especially for participants with Complex Support Needs, home modifications and Supported Independent Living.

The Principal Member also noted concerns around the payment process for sitting fees to Members, and requested a review of the process.

Action 3: Review the current sitting fees payment process for Members.

3. Psychosocial Disability

3.1. Psychosocial Disability Recovery Framework

Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material and Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material provided an overview of progress of the Psychosocial Disability Recovery Framework.

Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material advised Members the Agency undertook a targeted consultation from April to June, including discussions with Council representatives and extensive engagement with state and territory mental health stakeholders.

Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material sought feedback from Council on the draft Recovery Framework and welcomed views on implementation.

Council thanked Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material and Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material for their efforts on the Framework, particularly the extensive engagement with the community in its development. Members further noted their support for the Framework.

Members raised the importance of considering people who have psychosocial disability as a secondary disability and the additional impacts they may experience, including other mental disorders and physical conditions.

Members stressed the need to use clear and simple language and suggested further clarification of the six principles in the Recovery Framework was necessary with this in mind.

Council discussed the need for trauma-informed practices to be established to support NDIS participants, and appropriate training for staff to assist with better supports and pathways to recovery without re-traumatisation for participants. Members noted this is especially important

National Disability Insurance Agency 4

OFFRagSL! SENSAFVE

oFFiG@Ad?Senstfive

Independent Advisory Council

a indis)

within the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities, where intergenerational trauma is common.

Council said clarifying how the concept of recovery aligns with the concepts of scheme sustainability would be very important, particularly where participants with psychosocial disability can build their capacity over time.

Members suggested a link between the Recovery Framework and other programs of work related to specific cohorts including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy, Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Strategy and Early Childhood intervention would be beneficial.

4. Co-design

4.1. Partnership agreement progress

Ms Van Poppel discussed with Council the progress on the Partnership Agreement, noting a small group of Council members, Sector Representatives and Agency staff have met regularly over the last few weeks to progress this work including to:

define the Agency’s approach to a partnership agreement with the disability community; and
begin to develop a framework for engaging on identified issues.

Ms Van Poppel advised a forward plan has now been developed with the aim of a signed Partnership Agreement by the end of the year. Ms Van Poppel also advised an independently facilitated workshop would be scheduled in mid-September with Council Members and the disability community to:

finalise a proposed agreement structure for consideration
agree on engagement, consultation and co-design governance and reporting arrangements

Council stressed the importance of having the right facilitator for this work, with the Agency confirming the short list contained people with disability with facilitation experience.

The Principal Member expressed thanks to those Council Members and Agency staff involved in the subgroup for their hard work on this important initiative. Ms Van Poppel further thanked Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material and Dr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material for their commitment to making this work with the disability community, noting the sector trusts them for this genuine intent.

National Disability Insurance Agency 5

OFFRegSL!1 SENSAFVE

orFicthe*Senstfve

J Independent S VA Advisory \ Council to the indis|

5. Meeting close

5.1. Other Business

Nil.

5.2. Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled 22 September 2021 from 1.30pm-4.30pm.

Delivered by the National Disability Insurance Agency

OFFIegsL! SENSAIVE