Document 3
The Hon Jane Prentice MP Assistant Minister for Disability Services Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Assistant Minister
Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your reappointment as Assistant Minister for Disability 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 (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.
In particular, I wanted to let you know about a community awareness raising project titled NDIS Ready that the Agency launched in May 2016, and invite you to be a part of the project. NDIS Ready is a community awareness raising project aimed at preparing people with disability, their families and carers, providers and the community for the rollout of the NDIS.
There are a number of opportunities for you to become involved in NDIS Ready, such as:
- attending NDIS office openings/community celebrations;
- sharing the NDIS Ready Communications Toolkit from our website amongst your networks to help spread the word about the NDIS and how people can get ready for the scheme;
- sharing content on your social media channels about the NDIS using #ndisready; and
- filming an NDIS TV video to be shared through NDIS communication.
The scope and scale of the NDIS makes it a challenging but critically important reform, given the major positive implications for workforce participation, productivity, efficiency in public expenditure, and most importantly, improved lives for people with disability.
Either s. 47F or s. 47E(d)
The Agency remains committed to delivering the scheme in line with the Government’s priorities of contestability, innovation and economic growth.
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 and continuing to work with you to deliver these outcomes
Yours sincerely
David Bowen Chief Executive Officer National Disability Insurance Agency
19 July 2016