DOCUMENT 24
Independent Advisory Council to the ndis
FOI 24/25-0546
Minutes of the Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS
Meeting 4 — 12 November 2020 12.30pm to 5.00pm, 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
Ms Sam Paior
Mr Mark Tonga
Ms Sharon Boyce
Ms Tricia Malowney OAM
Ms Kerry Allan-Zinner
Dr Leighton Jay
Expert Adviser
Dr Ben Gauntlett, Disability Discrimination Commissioner
NDIA Representatives
Mr Martin Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer
Ms Sarah Johnson, Scheme Actuary
Dr Sam redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Policy, Advice and Research
Mr Luke redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Partner and Contact Centre
Ms Sumone redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Strategy
Ms Christine redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Early Childhood Services
Mr Peter redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Strategic Advisor ECEI and Autism
Mr Trent redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Agency Policy
Ms Loretta redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Director, Early Childhood Services
Mr Chetan redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Director, Enterprise Strategy
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
Mr Stephen redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Disability Policy, Department of Social Services
Ms Karen redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Information Linkages & Capacity Building, Department of Social Services
Mr Brian Woods, Director, Disability Policy, NSW Department of Family and Community Services
Ms Belinda redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material AM, Council Consultant
Apologies
Mrs Judy Huett
Mr John Langoulant, NDIA Board Director
Mr Oliver Bladek, Deputy CEO, Design, Digital and Strategy
Mr Hassan redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Strategy and Priorities
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1. Principal Member’s Welcome and Open
1.1. Principal Member’s welcome
The Principal Member opened the meeting at 12.34pm.
The Principal Member acknowledged the Traditional Owners of the lands on which Members, Expert Adviser and attendees were meeting and the celebration of NAIDOC week (postponed from July due to COVID). The Principal Member advised the theme for this year is ‘Always was, always will be’ in recognition of the hundreds of Nations that have lived on and cared for this land for over 65,000 years.
The Principal Member welcomed Dr Leighton Jay to his first Council meeting, noting his longstanding relationship with Council, sector leadership and disability expertise.
The Principal Member thanked Ms Malowney, Ms Cullen, Ms Reid and Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material for their recent reports following participation as Council representatives at the Participant Reference Group, Trauma-Informed Disability Practice project and Out of Session Council subgroups. These reports are available in the Resource Centre on Diligent.
1.2. Minutes, matters arising and declarations of interest
Council noted the updated register of conflicts of interest circulated in advance of the meeting.
Council approved the minutes from the meeting held on 15 October 2020 and noted the matters arising.
2. Independent Assessments
2.1. Independent Assessments (IAs)
Dr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material advised Council the Agency was progressing with the first phase of consultation, noting the IA Council subgroup is now meeting fortnightly and he will share the minutes from those meetings with the full Council to ensure transparency.
Dr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material mentioned a possible delay to the timeline of rollout and implementation of IAs, although noting the Agency’s current program of work will continue as planned. Dr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material advised he will be seeking members’ valuable feedback on three draft policy consultation papers specifically on access, planning, plan flexibility, and Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) due for public release later this month.
Council discussed the second IA pilot, including selection sample and evaluation. Recognising the importance of the pilot, some members offered to participate as individual participants / carers to provide first hand feedback on the IA process.
Council raised the importance of looking at the interface between IA and the role of NDIA liaison officers, local area coordinators and community connectors, which is not in the scope of the IA pilot. Members also reiterated the need to focus on accessible, accurate and sustained communications on IA and the second pilot, including participant case studies.
Action 1: Secretariat to distribute IA Council subgroup minutes to members.
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Action 2: Secretariat to share with Council IA consultation resources for feedback prior to public release. Secretariat to also send DSS information paper for reference.
Action 3: Secretariat to provide a response to the Question on Notice: The NDIA has been sending letters to participants explaining about the IA pilot, inviting them to participate as volunteers. ‘How is the NDIA planning to target Northern Territory residents of remote or very remote communities who may not be able to access the mail?’
Action 4: Secretariat to provide a response to the Question on Notice: ‘Will participants with hearing impairment be assessed with or without the hearing aid?’
Action 5: Secretariat to investigate and facilitate Council members participating in the second IA pilot.
3. Scheme Actuary
3.1. Participant Satisfaction Survey
Ms Johnson provided Council with an overview of the Participant Satisfaction Survey (PSS) and the previous engagement with Council Members on the topic, noting the Agency has evaluated participant satisfaction since Scheme commencement.
Ms Johnson said that in October the delivery of the PSS moved from the NDIA’s National Contact Centre to an independent entity, Australian Healthcare Associates (AHA), which also resulted in an increased survey sample size, improving efficiencies and results. The NDIA will start reporting on these results in the next NDIS Quarterly Report.
Council members highlighted employment, transport and safety as areas where the inclusion of additional questions relating to these topics would be beneficial in understanding participant experiences, to improve Scheme outcomes for people with a disability.
Council’s PSS subgroup will work with Ms Johnson and the Scheme Actuary on developing additional question modules to include in future surveys.
The Principal Member advised Ms Johnson that Mrs Huett was keen to assist with testing the PSS with people with Intellectual Disability.
Ms Johnson also provided an overview of the key highlights included in the latest NDIS Quarterly Report for Q1 2020-2021.
Action 6: Secretariat to re-engage the PSS subgroup and facilitate contact between Ms Johnson and Mrs Huett.
4. National Disability Strategy
4.1. National Disability Strategy and Outcomes Framework
Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material sought Council’s feedback on the National Disability Strategy (NDS) Outcomes Frameworks.
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Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material said that the new NDS will have a strong focus on measurement and accountability, with the Outcomes Frameworks tracking progress against elements of the strategy. A public consultation focusing on key outcomes to be included is underway, with submissions closing on 18 December 2020. The Principal Member confirmed Council will be providing a submission.
Council saw action on employment as of critical importance within the NDS, noting the current disincentives and barriers to employment for people with disability and the need to improve linkages between the education and employment sectors. Members queried whether any consideration was given to entrepreneurship support for people with a disability and offered to assist in developing ideas in this area.
Members also raised the importance of the NDS having a clear link to justice and child protection systems, including the provision of data on children with disability in out of home care, and the interaction between parents with disability and the child protection system.
Council stressed the importance of transparency, suggesting data from the Outcomes Frameworks be publicly available and accessible for people with disability and their families.
Action 7: Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material to liaise with Ms Paior regarding employment incentives
Action 8: Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material to liaise with Mr Tonga regarding entrepreneurship support
5. ILC Function
5.1. Information, linkages and capacity building (ILC) transfer to the Department of Social Services
Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material provided Council with an overview of the recent transfer of the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program from the NDIA to Department of Social Services (DSS).
Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material stated that DSS and the Agency have been working closely to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of grant funding. Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material said two new grant rounds were announced at the end of October with a focus on COVID-19 recovery for people with a disability.
Council noted the importance of evaluation, and having data that may provide direction for future investments in ILC. They also suggested specific data collection on the impacts of COVID-19 and learnings associated with it.
Council highlighted the disproportionately low funding allocated to the ILC program in relation to what it intends to achieve within the NDIS, and that the short-term project nature of its funding approach made sustainability very difficult for community organisations.
Members recommended that any new investment strategy prioritises organisations that employ people with disability and suggested investment in projects targeting families of young children as a sustainable approach to build capacity in participants.
The Principal Member noted the importance of transparency of investment guidelines, and mentioned the Council provided a submission to the NDS outlining their concerns with the ILC program.
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6. ECEI
6.1. ECEI Implementation Reset Project
Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material and Mr redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material highlighted the Agency’s focus on the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) Reset project to ensure the approach for young children was in line with the Scheme’s original intent.
Council highlighted the importance of consistency for children and families from pre-access through to full Scheme, noting this differs from requirements for adults. Members also stressed the need for specific strategies to support access of young children from Indigenous or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Council suggested the NDIA engages with peak organisations representing children with Autism, noting the underrepresentation of young girls with Autism who may be missing out on early intervention.
Council was extremely appreciative of the work of the ECEI team, and commended their efforts in engaging with Council representatives to improve Scheme experience and outcomes for children. The Principal Member and NDIA staff also thanked Council Members for their valuable feedback.
Ms redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material advised Members the report will be released publically for consultation and feedback post final Board endorsement at the end of the month. Additionally, the Agency will commence policy work on ECEI in the near future.
7. Meeting close
7.1. Other Business
The Principal Member provided Members with an update on the Reference Groups review, noting a number of Council Members will be invited to participate in the Groups.
The Principal Member also welcomed the NDIA’s recent appointment of Daniel redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material as Strategic Adviser, Intellectual Disability.
7.2. Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled 11 December 2020 from 1.30pm-4.00pm.
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FOI 24/25-0546 DOCUMENT 25
Independent Advisory Council
AGENDA
INDEPENDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL TO THE NDIS
Meeting 5 of 2020
Date: Friday 11 December 2020
Log-in details:
Independent Advisory Council Meeting
redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material
| SESSION 1: PRINCIPAL MEMBER’S WELCOME & OPEN | 1.30pm-1.45pm |
|---|---|
| ITEM 1.1 | Principal Member’s welcome |
| ITEM 1.2 | Confirmation of minutes, matters arising and declaration of interest |
| SESSION 2: COUNCIL REPORTS | |
| ITEM 2.1 | Members and Expert Adviser: Reports ‘from the ground’ |
| SESSION 3: LOCAL AREA COORDINATION | 2.15pm-2.45pm |
| ITEM 3.1 | Overview of Council’s Advice Presenter: Belinda redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material AM, Council Consultant |
| Break 2.45 – 2.55pm | |
| SESSION 4: INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENTS | 2.55pm-3.25pm |
| ITEM 4.1 | Independent Assessments Consultation NDIA Representative: Sam redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Policy, Advice and Research |
| SESSION 5: RESEARCH & EVALUATION | 3.25pm-4.10pm |
| ITEM 5.1 | Research and Evaluation Overview NDIA Representative: Janice redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Research and Evaluation |
| SESSION 6: HOME & LIVING | 4.10pm-4.40pm |
| ITEM 6.1 | Home and Living Policy Consultation NDIA Representative: Sam redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material General Manager, Policy, Advice and Research, and Richard redacted: s22(1)(a)(ii) - irrelevant material Branch Manager, Participant Experience |
| SESSION 7: MEETING CLOSE | 4.40pm-4.45pm |
| ITEM 7.1 | Other business |
| ITEM 7.2 | Next meeting |
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