General issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS

Submission 41

to whom it may concern

As a mother of four children, all with a diverse range of disabilities, and as someone married to someone else with multiple disabilities - I am incredibly disheartened and very upset to read of more hoops put into place by the NDIS for people with disabilities to jump through, in order to keep on receiving funding for much needed supports.

I am not at all happy with the extra stress and trauma this is going to cause my family, who already have more than enough on their plate. It is also going to add stress to my life, when I am already struggling to advocate for their needs as well as keep the home running smoothly, work and study Disability Inclusion and Health Promotion at university full time. My children and husband absolutely do not need more things to fuel their anxiety.

Having independent assessors who have no assumed knowledge about rare conditions and disabilities to make a call regarding continuation of funding in a timing bracket as small as 20 minutes is absolutely appalling and completely unethical.

Asking people with disabilities to meet with unknown independent assessors to quantify and justify their needs is a completely outrageous task, and completely unjustifiable. The NDIS was supposed to be about empowering the individual, and improving their life - not making it trickier. The flow-on effect this will then have on carers is absolutely ridiculous and needless.

It is already a very long and convoluted process for people with disabilities to gain access to the NDIS in the first place, with my husband’s application being rejected twice based purely on technical jargon and wording. It takes a huge amount of emotional and psychological strength to fight for support as a disabled person, when you are already exhausted and overwhelmed already. Getting support should not be this hard, and fighting to keep it should not be either.

I absolutely do not support the new ‘independent assessment’ process the NDIS plans to implement, and I wanted to share with you my reasons. I hope you with heed my call for change to the system, and make it client and person-centred - which it currently is not, and certainly will not be at all should the change be implemented.

The process needs to be streamlined, far less convoluted and have the client at the core.

I appreciate your support in addressing my issues regarding this matter. I believe a lot of improvement needs occur.