Dear Committee,
I have already written to your Committee about the failure of the NDIS but wish to add some more comments.
There are now people seriously contemplating suicide because of the results and refusal of funding by the NDIS. So was this really supposed to be an end result of the implementation of the NDIS?
There are instances of a total lack of commonality or standards in the Planning Process. In my case I have now spent over 8 months compiling the documentation deemed necessary just to hopefully be accepted by the NDIS. Was the stress caused by the total lack of assistance in the process included as part of the NDIS process? Luckily I am able to see a Clinical Psychologist as part of the Healthy Minds Program.
Despite over 8 months we still have to go through a full Neuro Psychological Assessment because I am informed that one undertaken in 2011 is completely out of date. Committee this is a lady with an acquired brain injury and a recent MRI confirms that nothing has changed at all. To sit through a new Neuro Psychological Assessment will take 5 visits of an hour each because cannot take so much Mental testing.
Then I find out that once the Plan has been drawn up, we do not have the option of even reviewing the plan before it is submitted for approval.
We are also informed by many other participants that the plan is a legal document and in any case we would have considerable trouble even deciphering exactly what it means.
We are also informed that should we want to change our plan management contractor then there would be a complete full review of the plan.
We have people that were receiving State funding being refused for the NDIS and then the State funding is ceased. What do these people do Committee since its obvious that the State funding assessment determined that they need support.
I hope your Committee looks at increasing the personnel on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal because I understand that the number of Appeals will very seriously increase because of the NDIS. Perhaps you should ask why will there be so many appeals?
The following questions also need answering:
- What is the timeframe for NDIA actioning Freedom Of Information requests?
- Why isn’t there one person allocated to each submission as it seems possible clients are getting confused responses from different areas of the NDIA?
- Why isn’t there acknowledgement of important Medical information and a reply giving anticipated timing for the assessment results?
- Exactly what assistance is available to aid completion of the documentation to a person living on their own and currently receiving assistance from a Mental Health support worker? This persons GP did not even know what was required to complete the forms and the persons initial application was rejected.
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