FOI 25/26-1019 DOCUMENT 3

Approved: June 27th, 2019 Owner: National Access & Workload Management Branch NDIS HSP Transition Workshop Agency Notes Tuesday July 2nd, 2019 Insurance Attendees Dept Health DSS DHS NDIS Disability Meeting Purpose Develop strategic brief on arrangements transition eligible HSP clients NDIS July 1st 2020 Develop policy parameters hearing services particularly eligibility. Workshop goal Clarify NDIS eligibility requirements process future refinements Eligibility Agenda item NDIS Hearing Impairment access guidelines Current NDIS eligibility parameters creation purpose legislation AAT case for eligibility implications risk assessment common law precedents Nature health hearing impairment eligibility Refining NDIS eligibility parameters (NDIA Process Actuary?)

NDIS Eligibility Requirements The eligibility criteria ensure people with disability have current needfor support based one more permanent impairments that significantly affect their daily living and social economic participation ongoing basis All valid complete requests considered against these three separate distinct legal Age under years Residence live Australia Australian citizen resident protected special category visa holder Disability significant affects person ability take part everyday activities likely require support life or

Disability Requirements

Valid Access Requests:

• include either consent to access Centrelink record verify age and residency status documentary evidence, or supporting evidence disability.
• signature verbal authority progress request person authorised representative.

Disability Requirements Hearing

The NDIS Operational Guidelines – Access NDIS indicate substantially reduced functional capacity perform activities likely when experiences following levels hearing impairment: ε6 decibels better ear pure tone average Hz ,μkHz kHz kHz ) or < dB in conjunction other permanent impairments example vision cognitive impairments where there significantly poorer expected speech detection discrimination outcomes Refer Additional guidance for hearing impairments.

List A - Disability Where a has disability list they will meet requirements Section of NDIS Act without providing further evidence permanency function impaired For people with hearing loss > bilateral hearing loss (pure tone average Hz,Hz,kHz) .

List B - Disability Where on list have requirement attributable that is permanent They need provide about impact their impairment social economic participation lifetime support from NDIS The following impairments considered result hearinloss : Cortical deafness Pendred syndrome Sensorineural hearing loss.

• Stickler syndrome
• Usher syndrome
• Waardenburg syndrome code span redacted (s22(1)(a)(ii)) - irrelevant material NDIS Access pathways for Hearing code span redacted (s22(1)(a)(ii)) - irrelevant material AAT case: Hearing and NDIS eligibility Evans and NDIS, April 24th 2019 considered how much it impacts disability requirements against substantial reduced functional impact. • A single mother aged forty-seven years old, • Has less than minimum sixty-five decibel hearing loss; Access not met based on audiometry result Findings: • The actual effect from this applicant’s hearing loss means they miss approximately fifty percent sound approx., leading them struggling understanding speech anywhere except when seated next to someone else; therefore impacting ninety five per cent in their everyday interaction.

• In this case, the legislative question – whether the impairment results in a substantially reduced functional capacity to communicate - is not served by the policy of the minimum dB and should be disregarded.
• It was established that the applicant was unable to effectively communicate in a range of everyday life situations, rather than just needing to perform tasks differently to interact effectively at work.
• The tribunal found that the applicant’s life is substantially limited functionally, by her inability to communicate, in all the situations in which other individuals without hearing loss can do so
• This case highlights the need to consider the dB loss rating alongside the functional impact on people with impaired communication abilities.