General issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS

                                 Submission 40

Hello,

I am writing this letter to convey my concern and protest to the below implementation to the NDIS:

https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/independent-assessments

I believe Independent Assessments will cause a great number of NDIS participants to be discriminated against. Any person with an Invisible Disability, especially children who do not understand the seriousness of theirs, will be excluded. Not only those people, but it would be incredibly dehumanising and traumatic for any other person to have to repeatedly disclose personal information about their disability to an unknown health professional instead of the ones they are comfortable with. The other problem is that by focusing solely on positives, an individual’s struggles will be neglected and not addressed. The whole system is rife with flaws and this is just another way to make it more difficult to access, impossible for some.

This effects me personally, as with evidence from my daughter’s trusted health care providers who know her well, we have been able to access life changing NDIS support, however under this new service my daughter would be likely deemed ineligible, due to the fact that she has such high anxiety, she only has overt meltdowns and struggles when she feels safe, at home. Her mental disability is debilitating behind closed doors however to anyone who meets her, she’s just a very clever little girl.

I could tell you countless stories from other parents and supporters of disabled people who mask their disabilities well for new people, and this new rule threatens to alienate them from a program specifically intended to help them.

I strongly object to this new rule, which will put so many disabled people at risk of losing the support they fought long and hard to finally be granted. Access to the NDIS is already incredibly difficult to navigate for disabled people and busy parents.

Thank you,