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Minutes of the Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS Meeting 3 — 15 October 2020

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DOCUMENT 22

Independent Advisory Council to the ndis

FOI 24/25-0546

Minutes of the Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS

Meeting 3 — 15 October 2020> 1.30pm to 4.30pm, hosted on MS Teams

Members

Ms Robyn Kruk AO (Principal Member)

Ms Leah van Poppel (Deputy Chair)

Ms Sylvana Mahmic

Ms Jennifer Cullen

Mr James Manders

Ms Liz Reid AM

Mrs Judy Huett

Ms Sam Paior

Mr Mark Tonga

Ms Sharon Boyce

Ms Tricia Malowney OAM

Ms Kerry Allan-Zinner

Expert Adviser

Dr Ben Gauntlett, Disability Discrimination Commissioner

NDIA Representatives

Dr Helen Nugent AO, NDIA Board Chair

Mr Martin Hoffman, NDIA 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

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 Secretariat, Independent Advisory Council

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

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

Attending

The Hon. Stuart Robert MP, Minister for the NDIS

Commissioner Graeme Head AO, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

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

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

Mr Garry redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material NDIS Senior Adviser, Office of the Hon. Stuart Robert MP

Mr Matthew redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Adviser, Office of the Hon. Stuart Robert MP

Apologies

Nil

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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 Advisers and attendees were meeting.

The Principal Member advised Council of Ms van Poppe’s appointment as Deputy Chair. Ms Kruk congratulated Ms van Poppel and thanked those members who expressed an interest in the role, as it was a difficult decision.

The Principal Member confirmed Ms Malowney will join Ms Allan-Zinner as Council representatives on the Participant Reference Group, and attend alternate meetings.

The NDIA Board Chair, Dr Helen Nugent AO thanked the Council for producing outstanding quality advice and its continued commitment to working closely with the NDIA to improve the Scheme.

1.2. Minutes, matters arising and declarations of interest

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

s47F- personal privacy

The Council approved the minutes from the meeting held on 9 September 2020 and noted the matters arising.

2. Minister for the NDIS

2.1. Minister’s Address

The Principal Member welcomed Minister Robert to the meeting.

The Principal Member presented the Council’s 2020-2021 Work Plan to the Minister, noting the close alignment with the Agency’s Corporate Plan and matters previously identified by him as priorities. The Principal Member said the Council is refreshing its Reference Groups to support Council’s work.

Council presented three items for the Minister’s attention including:

  • Council’s advice on participants who are parents: Minister Robert fully supported the advice and its alignment with the NDIS principles on participant choice and control. The Minister also noted that work has commenced with child protection services across Australia to build greater connection and cooperation with the NDIS.

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  • Council’s submission to the National Disability Strategy Position Paper: Minister Robert supported the Council in making a strong submission and emphasised the importance of State and Territory government support.

  • Independent Assessments: The Minister acknowledged the issues raised, noting these are natural and understandable concerns as we seek to move toward making the Scheme as it was originally intended. The Minister thanked the Council for their continued support and conveyed his interest in remaining involved with Council to work on these matters

Minister Robert noted the significant achievements and improvements made to support the Scheme to move more towards the original intent of the Productivity Commission.

The Principal Member thanked the Council members who presented the reports to the Minister — Mrs Huett, Ms van Poppel, Ms Malowney and Ms Cullen and the support of Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material

Action 1: Secretariat and Principal Member to liaise with Minister’s office to schedule his attendance at a future meeting.

3. NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

3.1. Commissioner’s Update

Commissioner Head briefed the Council on the Commission’s work and national roll out, advising the Commission will be operational in all states and territories by 1 December 2020, with providers fully registered under the Commission’s practice standards by the end of 2021.

The Commissioner provided an overview of complaints received, the triage approach to respond to them, and the compliance action being undertaken. The Commissioner said that due to the transition process, the ability to take regulatory action was constrained in some jurisdictions. The Commissioner advised most of the complaints are from people with a disability or their families and friends, and said that the Commission is developing resources for families and carers as well as improving its capability to analyse its data by demographic factors.

Council queried the Commission’s role in relation to complaints of abuse by family or carers, noting the only current avenue is through the police. Commissioner Head advised this is outside the Commission’s remit,however noted that the Royal Commission terms of reference allowed it to review such queries.

4. Independent Assessments

4.1. Independent Assessments Update

Dr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material provided an overview of the Independent Assessment (IA) Consultation Plan highlighting the engagement approach with key stakeholders and the sector. Dr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material sought the views of Council on the depth and breadth of the content and stakeholder groups to be consulted.

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Council emphasised the need for clear and concise communications to prevent fear and misinterpretation for participants, stating communications to date have not been effective in this area. Members suggested the NDIA develop an FAQ resource including responses to participant’s questions and fears, as well as key messages to support Council Members in their communications with their networks.

Additionally, Council highlighted that consideration should be given to communication to groups not directly involved in the consultation, such as those with intellectual or psychosocial disability.

Council reiterated their ongoing support to the Agency via the establishment of the IA Council subgroup. Council agreed the subgroup would meet monthly and requested to have IA updates as a standing agenda item to enable all members to contribute to this issue.

Members expressed concern at the procurement process for the independent assessors in rural and remote areas where there may not be a market for it.

Action 2: Members to express their interest in the group to the Secretariat, who will progress the setup of the IA Council subgroup.

Action 3: Secretariat to liaise with NDIA Comms to develop key messages for Council on IAs.

Action 4: Secretariat to provide a response to the Question on Notice: In relation to procurement of the independent assessors, what happens in a remote area if nobody puts in a bid to deliver the service?

5. Meeting close

5.1. Other Business

Nil.

5.2. Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled 12 November 2020 from 12.30pm-5.00pm.

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