Complaint about NDIS Services
The NDIA is the biggest abuse of people with a disability that has ever existed. No one should be treated as the NDIA treats people.
I have had the unfortunate experience to be an NDIS participant for over 4 years now and I would never wish it upon my worst enemy. What it exists for, other than abuse people is beyond me. I now live in acute pain and am suicidal most of the time. No one should have to live in this state.
Two things are worth commenting on specifically.
Service bookings
The ONLY people who can cancel service bookings are service providers. Hence participants are unable to change service providers without the consent and approval of the service provider. If the provider delivers NO services, the participant cannot go elsewhere, unless and until the provider who is doing nothing voluntarily initiates cancelling the service booking. The service booking reserves funds in the plan which can only be used by that service provider. Unless they are moved back onto the plan as unused, no other service provider can claim from the plan.
4 months ago I was having trouble getting reliable services from a service provider. I thought I would attempt to find another service provider. The first service provider had only booked out 10% of my core budget so that is ok. I did not through luck cancel the first service provider. Despite them agreeing to deliver 4 hours per week, I am averaging 3 hours a fortnight from them. The second one came and met me at home and promised the world to me and gave me all this high profile documents and the like. I signed an agreement with them, to agree to get some minimal services with them. In those 4 months, nothing has been done. To date, not one worker has ever turned up, nor have they made any attempt to contact me, or my support coordinator or to return requests for contact. I cancelled the service, although what I was cancelling was beyond me. Problem is they have in place a service booking for large amounts of funding. I requested through the portal for it to be ended, I had to give 14 days’ notice, for something they were not going to deliver in the following 14 days anyway. That was 2 months ago; it is still listed as awaiting provider approval. Yep, the provider has to agree for the service booking to be changed. I have lodged 2 complaints with the NDIA, none of which have been acknowledged, let alone responded to.
How is it that a system has been created that does not allow a participant to change providers without the provider agreeing to it? How on earth can that be classified as choice and control? Who holds providers accountable for delivering on services, when state based complaints systems say to contact the NDIA and the NDIA who created the system, refuses to respond to it. But equally surely the most effective way of saying I am not happy is moving to another provider, but sorry the provider who is doing nothing has to agree to it first!!!???
Equipment
The requirements allowing a person to get essential disability related equipment are designed so that people never get it. Not that you can appeal the decisions, because you cannot
appeal an NDIS policy of refusing to assess assessments. The NDIA agrees in principle to equipment being needed. But in order for it to be purchased, an assessment has to be done and that assessment has to be approved. Those assessments are NEVER EVER assessed. Simple really if they assess them and say no, you can lodge new assessments, with more documentation, by refusing to assess them, no one can appeal or question anything, because they have quite simply refused to do anything. Problem is there is nothing you can do about it. You can complain, but since the NDIA simply deletes complaints and never even looks at them, let alone acknowledge receipt of them, nothing you can do.
What happens quite simply is that the next plan comes around, since the equipment was not used in the plan it was funded in, they claim you no longer require it, and so it is not put into the next plan. You can appeal that, and if you are lucky and they even look at the review request (there are NO timelines on how long it takes them to look at a review), they simply include it again, with more money for another assessment, which again never gets looked at.
My life is now permanent pain for equipment which is essential but simply waiting for the NDIA to approve the assessment. I have been in this state for over 6 months and I already know how it is going to turn out. I now contemplate suicide as the only option I have left to deal with the acute pain I now live in, caused by not having essential equipment, does anyone care, no, is there anyone I can complain to, no. I am completely powerless. Reality is the previous state based waiting list was significantly faster, easier to navigate and above all else accountable, than the NDIA. I have had 4 years of this and it just gets worse each and every year. I am beyond breaking point now; I have no more capacity to tolerate the pain anymore. I can have this equipment within 2 days of the NDIA saying yes, they have to read 3 pages, but have a policy of refusing to do so, solely to save money. No civilised society should put people through this much pain and torture. Equally how can the NDIA put something in the plan but not allow you to purchase it. You cannot take it to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or anything else, because they are not denying the equipment, just refusing to assess the assessment they require, which quite simply is not part of anything at all.