NDIA Accountability Project

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The Hon Christian Porter MP Minister for Social Services Parliament House

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Document 1

The Hon Christian Porter MP Minister for Social Services Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Minister

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your reappointment as Minister for Social Services.

I am pleased to provide you with a briefing on key issues and an overview of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

As at 30 June 2016, the trial of the NDIS came to a conclusion and met its critical purpose. The information from trial has overall validated the assumptions upon which the funding for the scheme is based. The trial finished below the overall trial funding envelope and scheme data projections indicate that the full scheme will operate within the full scheme funding envelope.

The trial has provided the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) with the opportunity to test and refine service delivery design and operations. The Agency will continue to closely monitor implementation over coming years as it now grows the NDIS from seven trial sites to 100 sites, and from more than 30,000 participants at the end of June 2016 to more than 460,000.

As the scheme becomes a fully national scheme the Agency is focused on the key challenges ahead, including developing strong linkages with community partners, overseeing significant market growth, while remaining participant-centred and fiscally sustainable.

The Agency remains committed to delivering the scheme in line with the Government’s priorities of contestability, innovation and economic growth. redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

Please do not hesitate to contact me on redacted: Section 47F - Personal Privacy or at David.Bowen@ndis.gov.au if you have any queries.

I look forward to briefing you on these matters at a suitable time.

Yours sincerely

David Bowen Chief Executive Officer National Disability Insurance Agency

19 July 2016

National Disability Insurance Scheme

Incoming Minister Brief

July 2016

Table of Contents

  • Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
    • Purpose ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3
    • Key messages ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
  • National Disability Insurance Scheme ………………………………………………………………………..5
    • Key design principles ……………………………………………………………………………………………5
      • Insurance approach …………………………………………………………………………………………….5
      • Choice and control ………………………………………………………………………………………………5
      • Community connection ………………………………………………………………………………………..5
    • Three years in trial ……………………………………………………………………………………………….6
    • Transition to full scheme ……………………………………………………………………………………….6
    • Participants at the centre ………………………………………………………………………………………6
  • NDIS and Agency governance …………………………………………………………………………………..8
    • The Board …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
      • Membership ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
      • Appointments ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..9
    • Term expiry …………………………………………………………………………………………………………9
    • The Independent Advisory Council …………………………………………………………………………9
      • Membership ………………………………………………………………………………………………………10
      • Appointments …………………………………………………………………………………………………….10
    • Term expiry ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….10
  • NDIS Quarterly Reports to COAG …………………………………………………………………………10
  • National Disability Insurance Agency ………………………………………………………………………..12
    • Role of the Agency ………………………………………………………………………………………………12
    • Agency Executive ………………………………………………………………………………………………..12
      • Organisational Structure ……………………………………………………………………………………..14
      • Enterprise Agreement …………………………………………………………………………………………15
      • Shared services …………………………………………………………………………………………………15
      • Listen Learn Build Refine Improve ……………………………………………………………………….15
      • Corporate plan …………………………………………………………………………………………………..15
    • Administrative Appeals Tribunal …………………………………………………………………………….16

Introduction

Purpose

This document provides an overview of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It also outlines the key challenges for the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) going forward.

Key messages

The scope and scale of the NDIS makes it a nation building, social and economic reform, with major positive implications for workforce participation, productivity and efficiency in public expenditure.

NDIS spending is fiscally sustainable – the old system was inefficient and was financially unsustainable. The Agency is managing the NDIS and ensuring that it is financially sustainable through sound insurance principles. The Agency has developed a range of tools that assist with the equitable allocation of resources and management of NDIS sustainability.

The NDIS is equitable – due to the insurance approach and the NDIS being a demand-driven system, based on needs, any person with disability who meets the eligibility criteria is able to access the reasonable and necessary disability supports they require to live an ordinary life. The planning process takes account of family and community supports and seeks to nurture and sustain these informal supports. This is a different approach to the old rationed system where people with disability frequently had to exaggerate their incapacities in order to access the very limited pool of funds available for disability services.

The NDIS is not responsible for health, education and other universal services which people with disability need to access.

The NDIS is at the forefront of a new approach to delivering human services. The recent Competition Policy Review, led by Professor Ian Harper, identified the NDIS, where support follows individual users rather than service providers, as a blueprint for future service delivery. The NDIS is already demonstrating the benefits of the practical application of the principles of contestability and direct user choice redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

The NDIS is contributing to the Government’s focus on jobs and growth – social and economic participation for people with disability is a key objective of the NDIS. The Agency is committed to addressing the broad range of barriers for NDIS participants to become more economically independent through employment. In addition, anecdotally the Agency has heard about carers and family members of people with disability re-entering the workforce as a direct result of support provided by the NDIS.

The NDIS is part of the innovation agenda, in particular through the use of technology. The Agency is committed to using technology to connect people in new and dynamic ways. redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

National Disability Insurance Scheme

Key design principles

The NDIS is a new way of providing individualised support for people with disability, their families and carers. The NDIS provides participants with more choice and control over how, when and where their supports are provided. It also provides certainty that they will receive the support they need over their lifetime. The key design principles the NDIS follows are:

Insurance approach

The NDIS is an insurance scheme based on insurance principles. This means there is an investment made over a lifetime, and this includes capacity building and early intervention as a focus.

This insurance model is an important part of making sure the NDIS is sustainable into the future. The NDIS seeks to maximise opportunities over a participant’s lifetime and minimise costs.

By investing in people with disability in ways that increase independence, economic participation and community participation, the insurance-based approach utilised by the NDIS will reduce future care costs and maximise scheme sustainability.

Choice and control

The NDIS provides each participant with an individualised package which is flexible in choice of supports and providers. The design of the NDIS is consistent with the move to consumer directed services, as recommended by the Harper Review (Competition Policy Review).

The NDIS is the major stimulus for a competitive, diverse and innovative services market (broader than just disability). In this way, it has the potential to expand choice and control for people with disability.

Evidence from other jurisdictions (and trial experience) demonstrates that people with Individual Support Packages (ISPs):

  • overall make good choices;
  • achieve better outcomes; and
  • take more responsibility for prudent fund management.

Community connection

The Agency aims to nurture and sustain informal family care and connection to natural community supports.

A key design feature of the Agency is developing strong information, linkages and capacity building (ILC) supports. The development of these supports will serve as a form of preventative intervention ensuring that individuals can be supported in the community without unnecessary formal individualised support from the NDIS.

Three years in trial

Commencing on 1 July 2013, the NDIS has been in three years of trial, with four sites rolling out across Australia in 2013 and a further three sites rolling out one year later.

The trial has met its critical purpose of validating the assumptions upon which the NDIS is built, and allowing the Agency to test and build new ways of delivering services. But overall, and most importantly, it has been proof of the concept that the NDIS can deliver supports and services to people with disability in a way that allows them to exercise control and to be the architects of their own life.

redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

Transition to full scheme

On 1 July 2016, the Agency transitioned from trial to full scheme, bringing three years’ work in trial to a close and expanding the NDIS from seven trial sites to 14 regional hubs.

The NDIS journey so far has been shaped by the lessons and insights from trial sites across Australia. redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

Participants at the centre

Participants and people with disability are at the centre of the NDIS. Any person with a disability who meets the eligibility criteria is able to access the reasonable and necessary disability supports they require to live an ordinary life. The NDIS will help build an Australian society where participants and people with disability experience fairness, security and opportunity. The NDIS will also bring certainty to families and carers.

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NDIS and Agency governance

The governance model for the NDIS is outlined in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act). The key governance arrangements are as follows:

  • The NDIS is administered by the Agency which has been established under the NDIS Act and is governed by a Board.

  • The Board is advised by the NDIS Independent Advisory Council (the Council).

  • The Disability Reform Council (DRC) – a COAG Ministerial Council made up of treasurers and ministers responsible for disability from the Commonwealth and each state and territory – is the decision maker on NDIS policy issues.

  • The Commonwealth Minister is responsible for administering the NDIS Act, and exercises statutory powers with the agreement of the states and territories, including a power to make the NDIS Rules and direct the Agency.

  • The Commonwealth Board is chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services (DSS), and includes members from the central agencies.

  • The Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS is composed of six members of the House of Representatives and six senators.

    • After 30 June each year, the Committee presents an annual progress report to the Parliament on the NDIS – the Committee’s second Progress Report was tabled in November 2015.

  • The Western Australia Joint Steering Committee is attended by officials from first ministers’ departments and departments and agencies responsible for disability, along with the Agency.

The Board

The Agency reports to an independent Board, the members of which are jointly nominated by the Commonwealth, states and territories. The Board is responsible for ensuring the proper performance of the Agency’s functions.

On 28 June 2013, the then Commonwealth Minister for Disability Reform issued the Statement of Strategic Guidance to the Board (available online on the NDIS website). The statement was issued with the agreement of state and territory governments in accordance with Section 125 of the NDIS Act.

The statement outlines government expectations of the Board and the Agency for the duration of the trial phase of the NDIS and transition to full scheme.

Membership

The Board members are:

  • Bruce Bonyhady AM (Chair);
  • John Walsh AM;
  • John Hill PSM;
  • Fiona Payne;
  • Martin Laverty;
  • Glenn Keys;
  • Rhonda Galbally AO; and
  • Geraldine Harwood.

Appointments

The NDIS Act requires that Board appointments are made by you, as the responsible Commonwealth Minister, with the agreement of all states and territories. The inaugural Board members commenced their appointments on 1 July 2013 for a period of three years. Originally the Board consisted of the Chair and eight members. There is currently one position vacant. In addition, Commonwealth legislation was passed in May 2016 to increase the size of the Board by three members, bringing the total number of Board positions which remain vacant to four.

DSS is responsible for administering Board appointments.

Term expiry

While all Board members, including the Chair, have been extended, their terms now end on varying dates, as agreed by the DRC in March 2016:

  • re-appointing the Chair, John Hill, Geraldine Harwood and Fiona Payne for a period of six months from 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2016; and
  • re-appointing Martin Laverty, Rhonda Galbally, John Walsh and Glenn Keys for a period of 12 months from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.

The Independent Advisory Council

The role of the Council is to advise the Board of on-the-ground issues and experiences of providers and participants, including provision of reasonable and necessary supports for participants and enabling people with disability to exercise choice and control.

Membership

The members of the Council are:

  • Rhonda Galbally AO (Principal Member);
  • Sylvana Mahmic;
  • Janet Meagher AM;
  • Gerry Naughtin;
  • Dean Barton-Smith AM;
  • Jennifer Cullen;
  • Joan McKenna-Kerr;
  • Michael Taggart;
  • Dale Reardon; and
  • Ken Baker AM.

Appointments

The NDIS Act requires Council members to be appointed by you. The Council is to consist of the Principal Member of the Council and not more than 12 other members. The responsible Commonwealth Minister must consult on the appointment of the Principal Member with the states and territories, and must seek their support before appointing other members. The inaugural Council members commenced their appointment on 1 July 2013 for three years to 30 June 2016.

DSS is responsible for administering Council appointments.

There have been three resignations from the Council over the term, and these positions remain vacant.

Term expiry

All remaining Council members have been extended for 12 months, until 30 June 2017.

NDIS Quarterly Reports to COAG

The Statement of Strategic Guidance to the Board requests that the Board report against a set of ongoing and time-specific key deliverables quarterly. The Scheme Actuary prepares these quarterly reports on behalf of the Board, which are provided to the DRC for public release. The last report was for the quarter ending 31 March 2016, with the next quarterly report due by the end of July 2016 and covering the period 1 April to 30 June 2016.

Quarterly reports outline how the Agency is tracking against the key performance indicators defined in the Integrated Performance Reporting Framework, as per the Intergovernmental Agreements. The reports include information and statistics related to participants in each host jurisdiction, and the funding of supports by the Agency.

National Disability Insurance Agency

Role of the Agency

The Agency has the responsibility to deliver the NDIS. Since it was established, the Agency has pursued a vision of optimising social and economic independence and full participation for people with disability. The NDIS Act details all of the Agency’s purposes.

Agency Executive

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Agency is David Bowen.

The Agency has had three Deputy CEOs since October 2015 which has increased the Agency’s strategic capability and capacity to drive the successful transition of the NDIS across Australia:

  • Louise Glanville, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Stakeholder Relations
  • Ian Maynard, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Operations
  • Carolyn Smith, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Organisational Capability.

David Bowen, Chief Executive Officer redacted: Section 47F - Personal Privacy

Mr Bowen is the inaugural CEO of the Agency. As CEO, Mr Bowen is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Agency. He has worked as a consultant to the insurance industry and health and disability sector. He is one of the architects of the NSW Lifetime Care and Support Scheme and as inaugural CEO was responsible for implementation of the initiative. Prior to this he was General Manager of the Motor Accidents Authority for 11 years.

Mr Bowen is a lawyer by profession with a strong background in administrative and insurance law. He has been actively involved in developing the disability reform program both as a member of the Independent Panel advising the Productivity Commission in its inquiry into the feasibility of a national disability insurance scheme, and as initial chair and ongoing member of the National Injury Insurance Scheme Advisory Group.

Louise Glanville, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Stakeholder Relations redacted: Section 47F - Personal Privacy

Ms Glanville joined the Agency in February 2014 and is currently in the role of Deputy CEO, Stakeholder Relations.

In this role, Ms Glanville leads the areas of Scheme Transition; Media, Communications and Engagement, Market and Providers and Community Linkages.

Ms Glanville brings a vast range of public sector experience to the Agency and the NDIS, including three years at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department. She has also worked at the Victorian Department of Justice, and in local government, academia, the private sector and ministerial offices. As a lawyer and a social worker, Ms Glanville is interested in the intersection between public policy and the law. Much of her work has focussed on the areas of human rights and social reform.

Ms Carolyn Smith, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Organisational Capability redacted: Section 47F - Personal Privacy

Ms Smith commenced as Deputy CEO, Organisational Capability with the Agency in October 2015.

In this role, Ms Smith looks after Governance and Parliamentary, Legal and Risk Management, Finances, People and Culture, Shared and Enabling Services, and Technology and Digital Innovation.

Ms Smith has wide ranging experience in complex structural change, policy development and implementation, program management and regulation. Most recently, she led Commonwealth property management and consolidation in the Department of Finance. Prior to that as acting Deputy Secretary and Division Head in DSS, Ms Smith was responsible for ageing and aged care. This included responsibility for the implementation of major aged care reform. Ms Smith‘s responsibilities over many years in aged care spanned policy, program management and regulation of the aged care system.

Mr Ian Maynard, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Operations redacted: Section 47F - Personal Privacy

Mr Maynard joined the Agency in October 2015 as the Deputy CEO, Operations.

Mr Maynard is responsible for service delivery design and operations, and the management and stand up of all sites, including current and future sites.

redacted: Section 47E - Certain Operations of Agencies

Mr Maynard’s previous role was Director-General of Queensland Health and prior to this the Commission Chief Executive of the Queensland Public Service Commission. Mr Maynard has held senior executive positions in diverse industries across both private and public sectors in Australia and New Zealand, and has significant experience in the areas of change management and business improvement initiatives. His preceding roles include CEO of Queensland Urban Utilities, Chief Operating Officer for the Brisbane City Council, senior risk management and strategic procurement roles with Fonterra Ltd, the world’s leading exporter of dairy products, and Fletcher Challenge Ltd, in New Zealand.

Organisational Structure

The Agency has been structured to deliver the rollout of full scheme, comprised of three Groups, each reporting to a Deputy CEO (Senior Executive Service Band 3). Each Group has three to four General Managers (Senior Executive Service Band 2) that manage key components of the transition.

The Agency is actively engaging with the Australian Public Service Commission to ensure that its structure and approach is consistent with best practice and appropriate for both a Commonwealth service delivery organisation and an innovative, community embedded enabler of economic and social participation for all people with disability (for example, by undertaking co-design and fostering inclusive relationships with sector partners, peaks and participants.

redacted: S. 47C - Deliberative material – SDOM is still subject to change.

Enterprise Agreement

The Agency was in the final stages of approval for its first Enterprise Agreement, working with the Australian Public Service Commissioner under the existing bargaining framework. The caretaker period commenced before it could progress to a vote.

Shared services

The Agency receives ICT, shared and some business services from the Department of Human Services.

Listen Learn Build Refine Improve

The Agency has been built on the platform and narrative of “Listen Learn Build Deliver”.

With full scheme rollout commencing from 1 July 2016, the Agency is now looking at an approach that will see it continue listening, learning and building, with an enhanced focus on continuous improvement and incorporation of lessons learnt in trial to refine scheme delivery. The Agency will “Listen Learn Build Refine Improve”, where evidence informs refinement and improvement.

redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

Administrative Appeals Tribunal redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material

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Appendices – Key Issue Briefs

A. NDIS Trial Performance B. Scheme Sustainability C. Full Scheme Implementation

redacted: Section 47C - Deliberative Material