Current Scheme Implementation and Forecasting for the NDIS
Submission 20
Current Scheme Implementation and Forecasting for the NDIS
Submission 20
the needs of a person with cognitive disability in the community on release from prison. This can be at odds with the level of supports required to help keep a participant with complex behaviours and the community safe. The Office of the Public Guardian is caught between the conflicting policy positions of Correctional Services in the Northern Territory and the NDIS in advocating successfully for the interests of participants in such matters. At issue is agreement as to the responsible authority for funding interventions which provide for the disability needs of the participant while satisfying the judicial conditions of release.
There are complexities also in the timing and provision of draft participant plans by the NDIS for consideration by the Parole Board of the Northern Territory which may impact a person’s early release. The NDIS will not provide a draft participant plan until a release date has been set by the Parole Board, but it is difficult for the Parole Board to consider how a person may meet their conditions of parole without details of the funded support that would be included in a draft participant plan. In some instances this will result in a person with cognitive disability who might otherwise meet the conditions for early release being forced to serve out their sentence in full. A level of foresight is also required in respect of participant plans developed in a prison rather than community setting, which may not meet the individual’s ongoing needs. The interface between the NDIS and Justice services should be addressed so that participant plans can be built prior to a release date being set for people who are eligible for parole.
The Office of the Public Guardian welcomes the opportunity to contribute to further discussions regarding this interface between the NDIS and Justice services.
Yours sincerely
Beth Walker Public Guardian
29 October 2021