NDIA Accountability Project

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Key Issue Briefs Index

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Document 2

Key Issue Briefs Index

Appendices Brief Title Page
A NDIS Trial Performance 1
B Scheme Sustainability 7
C Full Scheme Implementation 10

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National Disability Insurance Agency

Incoming Minister Brief

NDIS Trial Performance

Issue

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) ran trials from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2016. The trials tracked on time and on budget, and with high levels of participant satisfaction.

Quarterly reporting requirements

The National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) has a legislative requirement to provide quarterly reports on the NDIS, as per Section 174 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act):

(a) the Board members must prepare a report on operations of the Agency for each period of 3 months starting on 1 July, 1 October, 1 January or 1 April; and (b) give the report to the Ministerial Council within 1 month after the end of the period to which the report relates.

In practice, the Board provides the quarterly report to you, as Ministerial Chair of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Disability Reform Council (DRC), and you then provide the report to DRC members. The data from the quarterly report is then made public by you. The report for the quarter ending 31 March 2016 is published on the NDIS website.

Scheme performance to 31 March 2016

Trial sites

This section provides an overview of Agency performance as at 31 March 2016 across the seven trial sites. These seven locations are the first four trial sites which commenced on 1 July 2013:

  1. the Hunter trial site – Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, and Maitland Local Government Areas (LGAs) in New South Wales (NSW);
  2. the Barwon trial site – Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Queenscliff and Colac-Otway LGAs in Victoria;
  3. the South Australian trial site – 0-14 year olds; and
  4. the Tasmanian trial site – 15-24 year olds,

and the following three, which commenced on 1 July 2014:

  1. the Australian Capital Territory trial site;
  2. the Perth Hills trial site – Swan, Kalamunda and Mundaring LGAs in Western Australia (WA); and
  3. the Barkly region trial site in the Northern Territory.

Other sites

In addition to the seven trial sites, transition to full scheme commenced in the Nepean Blue Mountains in NSW on 1 July 2015. The LGAs in the site are Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Penrith. Information on this site is included in this brief and in quarterly reporting.

There are five further NDIS sites not included in the quarterly reporting.

  • Concurrent trials are underway in the South West and Cockburn-Kwinana in Western Australia based on the WA NDIS My Way Model. Information on the WA NDIS My Way Model trial sites is published separately by the WA Disability Services Commission.
  • In March 2016, transition to full scheme commenced in Townsville, Palm Island and Charters Towers in Queensland. As at 31 March 2016, there were 16 participants in Queensland.

Key points

The most recent publicly available data is for the period 1 January to 31 March 2016. The key findings from this quarterly report were:

  • Participant satisfaction: Participant satisfaction remains high. On a scale of very poor (-2) to very good (+2), with neutral being 0, participant satisfaction is at 1.63. This is consistent with previous quarters.
  • Participant numbers: 29,769 participants were eligible for the NDIS (100 per cent of the bilateral target). This is an increase of 3,894 participants over the quarter. 24,866 participants had an approved plan (83 per cent of the bilateral target), which

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National Disability Insurance Agency

Incoming Minister Brief

SCHEME SUSTAINABILITY

Issue

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is underpinned by an insurance-based approach which is supported by robust actuarial data and analysis to ensure financial sustainability. The insurance approach is embedded in both legislation and key operational documentation.

An ongoing key priority for the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) is monitoring scheme cost drivers and controls to ensure ongoing financial sustainability. The Agency has developed a range of tools that assist with the equitable allocation of resources and management of scheme sustainability.

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National Disability Insurance Agency

Incoming Minister Brief

FULL SCHEME IMPLEMENTATION

Issue

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) commenced the transition to full scheme on 1 July 2016. The transition to full scheme will take three years, and is being introduced in stages around the country, as the number of participants grows from approximately 30,000 to 460,000 across Australia. Existing Commonwealth and state-based services and supports will continue until eligible people start their plans with the NDIS.

Diagram 1. NDIS participant intake by state and territory

Jurisdictional overview

The transition to full scheme varies by jurisdiction:

  • New South Wales (NSW): In NSW, the NDIS will be rolled out by district. The speed of rollout in NSW is particularly fast, given that 103,442 people currently receiving supports through NSW Government specialist disability services become part of the NDIS in the first two years. Metropolitan districts are the focus for 2016-17, and rural and regional districts in 2017-18 (with 60,220 participants). New participants in NSW enter the NDIS across the state in the third year.
  • Victoria: The NDIS is also being rolled out by district in Victoria, with three districts commencing in year one. The rollout in Victoria builds across the three years of transition, starting with 15,103 participants in 2016-17.
  • Queensland: Queensland also has the NDIS rolling out by district, with a similar phasing to Victoria (14,366 participants in 2016-17 over three districts). Queensland did not have a trial site, but has had the benefit of an early transition site in Townsville, Charters Towers and Palm Island.
  • South Australia (SA): Rollout in SA is by age and district. Year one of transition will focus on all SA participants aged 0 to 14, year two will be all participants aged 15 to 17, and the final year will be the remainder of ages staged across various districts.
  • Tasmania: The Tasmanian rollout is by age, with two distinct age groups being phased into the NDIS across each of the three years of transition.
  • Northern Territory (NT): The NT’s 6,545 participants will be rolled out in stages by district, commencing in the Barkly Shire and East Arnhem and moving to urban Darwin by year three.
  • Australian Capital Territory (ACT): As the whole ACT spent three years in trial, it has around 797 participants remaining to be brought into the NDIS in 2016-17.

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The Government allocated funding to the Department of Human Services (DHS) in the 2015 Budget ($143 million over four years) for a new ICT system that would provide the Agency with the capabilities required to roll out the NDIS around Australia.

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Attachment A

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National Disability Insurance Agency

Incoming Minister Brief

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Nat

 Incoming Minister Brief

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