NDIA Accountability Project

First Peoples Disability Network (Australia) submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme – General Issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS

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First Peoples Disability Network Australia

FIRST PEOPLES DISABILTY NETWORK (AUSTRALIA)

Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme – General Issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS

OCTOBER 2020

FIRST PEOPLES DISABLITY NETWORK 1

About First Peoples Disability Network (Australia)

First Peoples Disability Network (Australia) is a national representative body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, family and communities with lived experience of disability.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 50 percent of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Peoples have some form of disability or long-term health condition. Despite its high prevalence, disability remains an untold story not solely in justice, but in all other areas that determine social outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people such as education, employment and housing.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability and their families are amongst the most seriously disadvantaged and disempowered members of the Australian community. They are nonetheless the experts in the often hidden impact of social policy upon the lives of peoples with disability. As the only national organisation in Australia that is governed by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, we give voice to their needs and concerns from lived experience.

Introduction

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is one of the most fundamental social reforms ever undertaken in Australia. However, the potential for First Peoples with disability to benefit from the scheme has been undermined since the initial pilot and roll out, due to the reticence of the NDIA to recognise that, for our community, things need to be done differently, and they need to draw on the knowledge and expertise of First Nations leaders with disability, to work through the challenges and opportunities.

In 2013, the First Peoples Disability Network released a ‘10 point plan for the implementation of the NDIS in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities’. In 2018, we updated this document to include all First Peoples with Disability¹, reflecting that the NDIS roll out was underway, considering those in our community not eligible for the Scheme, and recognising the role of the National Disability Strategy as the policy mechanism through which mainstream services and support should uphold the rights of people with disability in Australia.

The second stage consultation for the National Disability Strategy is currently underway, and that process, along with our submission to this Committee inquiry provides us with the opportunity to revisit our 10 point plan, which we have attached here as an appendix.

We made a separate submission, and provided evidence to the Committee in relation to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission². Here, we focus on some of the broader issues under our 10 priorities and three core pillars: Build the capacity of communities and individuals to understand their rights and entitlements; Develop and support an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce, and; Invest to create a First People’s Community Controlled service sector.

We reiterate here two recommendations we raised previously, but do not provide further detail, as this was discussed during our appearance before the Committee. However, we include them to emphasises the centrality of these issues to improving outcomes for First Peoples with disability in relation to the NDIS.

¹ First Peoples Disability Network (2018) Ten Priorities to Address Disability Inequity’ https://fpdn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/FPDN-ten-priorities-2018.pdf ² FPDN submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) no. 49. FPDN CEO Damian Griffis gave evidence to the Committee on Tuesday September 20, 2020.

FIRST PEOPLES DISABLITY NETWORK 2 Select Committee on the High Levels of First Nations People in Custody and Review of Deaths in Custody

Recommendations

  • The NDIA as a matter of urgency establish a formal First Peoples Advisory Committee consisting of representative organisations of First Peoples with disability, and Aboriginal Community Controlled organisations. This Committee to be established with a clear co-design mandate for the next two years, to be reviewed after that time for function and structure.
  • The NDIA work with this Advisory Committee to identify and fill data gaps in relation to agency functions and workforce, and the interactions with, and participation of First peoples with disability within the NDIA. This would ensure transparency to First Peoples with disability; support planning and investment in outreach, training needs and communications; inform the development of a workforce model; and more broadly support Aboriginal community-led market development.
  • The NDIA build an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander unit within the agency to ensure that a cultural overlay is implemented in all procedures and is an integral policy that acknowledges the diversity of our nations of people with disability.
  • The Government, including through the ILC, invest in Aboriginal disability community led education programs that build individual and community knowledge, capacity and confidence around rights and entitlements.
  • The NDIA support the provision of training for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in order for workforce to develop knowledge, skills and experience of the social model, human rights approach to disability.
  • The NDIA require all staff to undertake mandatory cultural awareness and disability rights training developed and delivered by First Peoples with disability and their representative organisations.
  • The NDIA work with Aboriginal disability representative organisations and Aboriginal community controlled organisations to establish cultural safety accreditation standards for providers to meet and gain certification.
  • Support Coordination to be included in the first plan of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, and not be limited in hours
  • Dedicated funding earmarked to identify appropriate support coordinators, and these support coordinators involved in the plan development for First Peoples with disability
  • A proportion of funding earmarked in all plans of First Peoples with disability to enable support coordinators to contribute to plan reviews
  • The current Community Connector Program, and the proposed navigator roles to be incorporated, and separately funded, as part of a broader strategy to build a culturally competent NDIS workforce.
  • The Federal Government, invest in building an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander National Disability Advocacy Program
  • The NDIA seek community input from First Peoples with disability and their representative organisations around supported decision making functions within the scheme prior to moving forward.
  • The NDIA immediately cease the implementation plan for independent functional assessments and outline a consultation process with people with disability and their representative organisation around the implications of the proposed changes.
  • The NDIA consult specifically with First Nations people with disability and their representative organisations about; the risk for our community in relation to independent functional assessments; the specific considerations needed; and the parameters for tailored pilots with First Peoples with disability prior to any broader implementation.

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Investment to build the capacity of communities and individuals to understand their rights

and entitlements We know from our work in communities that there are many First Peoples with disability who still have no knowledge of the NDIA or the NDIS, and there is no support for community led mechanisms to raise awareness and support people to understand their eligibility and access the scheme.

In addition, where the NDIA has reached First Peoples with disability and their families, and a plan has been approved, this approval is no reflection on the quality of that plan, or how well it actually meets the needs and aspirations of the participant. First Peoples with disability are entering into a planning process without dedicated time spent in building capacity and knowledge around their rights and entitlements. We are aware from our work in community that individuals, families and carers have struggled to understand all that is required for the planning process in terms of evidence and support documents, and therefore are not approved for all the services they may need. Many participants have little understanding of what has been approved, how they access and utilise the funding, what this funding might provide, and what it might change for them regarding their existing elationships in community. At review, these participants risk losing funding unused.

We have continually raised concerns that, as with other Government service delivery mechanisms, the NDIA sits within a western bureaucratic structure that has been designed and functions without, and often conflicts with, Aboriginal culture (including our approach to disability) and structures. Whilst investment is needed in shifting the service design and delivery, and building a workforce to be appropriate and responsive for Aboriginal people with disability, so too must there be dedicated, long term investment in building individual and community capacity and confidence to understand, negotiate, and assert their rights in a way that recognises and acknowledges cultural norms around care and community. This includes from navigating access and planning processes, to avenues for recourse, safety and support where there is poor quality service, discrimination, or abuse, neglect or violence (including as relates to the Disability Discrimination Act and the Quality and Safeguards Commission).

We stress here that this is not just about providing accessible information in multiple formats, or educating to people to better understand and navigate the actual processes and functions within the NDIA (although this is crucial). This is about investing in First Peoples with disability themselves (and their families and carers) to counteract the legacy of structures that have undermined individual and community autonomy and trust. This is investment in building understanding more broadly around rights and entitlements, and building confidence to assert these rights, in order for First Peoples with disability to develop as self-advocates, and informed, confident consumers within the disability service structure. The Tune Report notes:

‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may also have a rational fear or mistrust of government agencies and service providers, resulting from racially-based intergenerational and historical mistreatment, social exclusion and discrimination. In delivering outreach activities, it must be recognised that discussions about disability may not be easy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and historical perceptions, past experiences and beliefs may hinder engagement. The task ahead for the NDIA in overcoming these issues is significant’.

and: ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to find out about the NDIS from speaking to someone. This suggests the best prospects of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

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person engaging with the NDIS will be if the information is provided by a trusted member of their own community, in the language spoken within that community’³.

As we mentioned recently in our evidence to the Committee⁴, FDPN has a program called ‘Know Your Human Rights’. This is a peer to peer education program run by First Peoples with disability, using culturally, and disability accessible formats. Programs such as this, need to be supported in local Aboriginal communities as a priority.

The Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Investment Strategy⁵, aims to invest in projects that built the capacity of people with disability to exercise choice and control. To this end, measures of success in the ‘Australian Government Plan to Improve Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Disability’⁶ include;

‘ILC activities in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities reflect local community priorities’, and; ‘ILC investments create culturally sensitive community networks and contact points for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a disability.’

During the initial roll out of the NDIS, FPDN received support as part of the Disability Support Organisation Capacity Building Project⁷ to establish peer to peer programs focused on the NDIS. Despite the success of this program, this funding was discontinued. Unfortunately, Aboriginal disability representative organisations have received very little funding through ILC funding streams to provide tailored rights disability education and information, and NDIS data reflects the under- utilisation of the programs and few applications by Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander service providers to apply, particularly in rural and remote regions. There is currently no funding to support rights based capacity building programs for Aboriginal people with disability, run by Aboriginal people with disability.

The Information, linkages and Capacity Building funding has now transitioned to the Department for Social Services⁸, to ‘be aligned with the National Disability Strategy, ensuring a strong alignment with other national programs including disability employment services, disability advocacy, the new Disability Information Gateway and the recently reformed Carer Gateway’, with future directions to be part of upcoming consultations.

Community led programs that build individual and community knowledge, capacity and confidence around rights and entitlements, contribute broadly across priority areas of the National Disability Strategy (including the NDIS) and Closing the Gap. Future investment, including through the ILC, needs to be long term and specifically targeted to a Aboriginal disability community led organisations.

³ Review of the National Disability Insurance Act, Removing Red Tape and Implementing the Participant Service Guarantee’ David Tune AOP PSM (2019), p.84 5.58 https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services-for-people-with-disability-national-disability-insurance-scheme/review-of-the-ndis-act-report ⁴ Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, public hearing September 29, 2020. Evidence from FPDN CEO, Damian Griffis accessed in Hansard p.11 ⁵ Strengthening Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) A National Strategy towards 2022, released December 2018; accessed https://www.ndis.gov.au/community/information-linkages-and-capacity-building-ilc/ilc-investment-strategy ⁶ Australian Government Plan to Improve Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Disability Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Social Services) 2017 ⁷ A review of the NDIS Peer Support project was completed in July 2019 Wehbe, A., Davy, L., Fisher, K. R., Robinson, S., Kayess, R., & Purcal, C. (2019). NDIS Peer Support Final Report. Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Sydney. http://doi.org/10.26190/5d4e3b189539e ⁸ Further information in relation to the transfer to the Department of Social Services can be found here https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services-for-people-with-disability/information-linkages-and-capacity-building-ilc-program

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Invest to create a First People’s Community Controlled service sector and Develop and

support an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce We acknowledge the investments that are being made to build the Aboriginal Community Controlled service sector, including in disability services and to strengthen the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce.

The NDIA does not function in isolation and drawing on the expertise and existing relationships of local community controlled organisations will help to build a service structure that has broad knowledge across funded service initiatives, and can draw together supports to best meet the needs of First Peoples with disability in their community.

However, as an organisation led by, and on behalf of First Peoples with disability, we are concerned about the assumption from the NDIA, and more broadly across Government, that existing Aboriginal community controlled organisations already have sufficient, knowledge, skills and experience of the social model, human rights approach to disability. Whilst these organisations (many of them health based) may be best placed to reach out and provide services and support in their local community, lived experience and knowledge of disability in an Aboriginal context must be acknowledged as expertise in and of itself. This expertise should be sought out, and resourced to work in partnership and build intersectional capacity and capability amongst the Aboriginal Community Controlled disability workforce.

Amongst the NDIA workforce, the intersection of Aboriginality and disability is not well understood, neither are the compounding impacts of racism and ableism over the course of the life of a person with disability. To ensure promotion and protection of rights of all First Peoples with disability who are NDIS participants, the NDIA should require all staff and contractors to undertake mandatory training in cultural awareness and disability rights.

The Australian Government Plan to Improve Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Disability’, released in 2017 noted that work was underway within the NDIA to ‘Develop a national and regional cultural competency training program for in-house and outsourced staff, which starts at induction, on how to do business in the ‘proper way’⁹.

To our knowledge, this has neither been developed, or implemented across the agency. This should be developed and delivered by First Peoples with disability and their representative organisations (or affiliates). FDPN has been contracted to deliver training to Aboriginal Community Connectors which covers the Indigenous disability perspective and walking with the NDIS. This training could be rolled out across the NDIA, including to LACs and support coordinators.

In addition, it has previously been proposed that ‘Indigenous cultural safety accreditation standards’ be developed¹⁰. These standards would be appropriate for all LACs, and mainstream service providers. The training accreditation programs could form a key part of the workforce development strategy, as well as be key deliverables against the agency’s Aboriginal Engagement Strategy and Reconciliation Action Plan.

⁹ Australian Government Plan to Improve Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Disability Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Social Services) 2017 ¹⁰ National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (NACCHO) ‘NDIS Planning – Submission to Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme’ October 2019 FIRST PEOPLES DISABLITY NETWORK 6

Address the barriers facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in accessing the

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) FPDN recently responded to the NDIA Discussion Paper in relation to Support Coordination (September 2020), and we include here similar content to inform the Committee of our concerns in relation to workforce development and structure within the agency.

We are aware that the agency are currently reviewing different steps and functions within the scheme. We are concerned that the disjointed and separate consideration of these roles (including LAC, support coordinators, community connectors, planners) artificially delineates functions and roles which overlap and complement each other, and which can also potentially undermine, creating confusion and distress, particularly within remote areas where employees are limited and initiatives to develop skilled workforce are just beginning.

Currently roles within the NDIS are separated along arbitrary lines focused on the initial understanding of, and access to the scheme; planning and plan development, and then coordination and use of a funded plan once approve. There is a web of other funded supports for people with disability to understand, and interact with depending on their individual circumstances, such as Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI), justice and hospital liaison officers etc.

Support Coordination

In relation to support coordination, FPDN believes that this needs to be funded within first plans of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants as an affirmative action by the NDIA. Dedicated funding should be earmarked to ensure that appropriate support coordinators can be identified, and involved with the development and finalisation of first plans. Appointing the support coordinator after a plan is approved does not provide the opportunity to build trust and better understand when and how support coordinators can contribute, as well as enabling participants to agree and be clear on their expectations of this role. Support coordinators should also have a proportion of funding earmarked to contribute to plan reviews.

The NDIA Independent Advisory Council¹¹ stressed that the support coordinator must be independent from a SIL provider, and we support this recommendation as a priority, including independence from any new Concierge model that the agency are proposing to implement. Ideally, both support coordination, and formal decision making support (outside of nominated family, carers or personal networks) should be independent of all providers of participant core support to avoid conflict of interest. This, however is extremely challenging for First Peoples with disability due to a lack of culturally competent services, particularly in regional and remote areas. According to the NDIA Discussion Paper, 41% of participants are currently receiving support coordination from a provider of other supports, however there is no data to report the proportion of these individuals who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and where they are located. Given that for many First Peoples with disability they have little to no choice in quality, culturally appropriate service provision, this would be the same for support coordination.

The NDIA’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy¹², recognises the importance of community engagement to enable access to the scheme for First Peoples with disability. Whilst the Engagement Strategy is yet to be implemented effectively, the expansion of the funded Community Connector Program is welcome recognition of how critical initial outreach and engagement within our communities is.

¹¹ Independent Advisory Council of the NDIS ‘Support for decision making in the NDIS’ July 2019 https://www.ndis-iac.com.au/s/Support- for-decision-making-in-the-NDIS-July-2019.pdf ¹² National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy (2017) https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/strategies/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-strategy FIRST PEOPLES DISABLITY NETWORK 7

First Nations Community Connectors are ‘unique as individuals who have direct access to information about the way the NDIS functions, speak in the first language of the NDIS participants, and know the local communities and families. Effective Community Connectors can create a cultural bridge between the NDIA and the community as well as supporting NDIS participants’¹³.

We understand that the NDIA is considering the ongoing role of Community Connectors in relation to support coordination. Within the context of the description above, we support, with caution, the consideration of how the expertise, knowledge and cultural competencies of Aboriginal Community Connectors can potentially be drawn upon to build an appropriate NDIA workforce that supports First Peoples with disability to navigate the scheme. The relationships and trust developed by Community Connectors (and existing in communities through ACCHO’s), has the potential to play an important role in building connections between community members and the other NDIA functions, including planners and support coordinators, as well as the new navigator roles proposed by the Tune Review Report.

We note that these roles must not be considered as either or, but rather must be seen as individual parts of a whole – a whole that needs to be established as a culturally competent support structure that works together to enable First Peoples with disability to navigate the scheme.

The Tune Report recommends that the Commonwealth Government ‘provides additional funding to support people with disability to navigate the NDIS, with a review of demand to occur as part of the next review of NDIS costs, currently scheduled for 2023’¹⁴. This funding needs to be committed to those communities that continue to have barriers to access, quality planning and utilisation of funding – with a specific focus on First Nations peoples with disability. First Nations navigator roles must be implemented as part of a broader workforce development strategy, taking into account existing functions, and be complimentary to continued investment in the Community Connectors Program, which is currently only funded for 12 months (from July 2020).

Finally, we echo the ongoing concerns raised more broadly by people with disability and their representative organisations about the need for long-term, secure funding for independent advocacy. FPDN is increasingly undertaking individual advocacy to support First Peoples with disability that come to us, this is despite us only being funded to provide systemic advocacy. This is across all areas of life, including most recently in relation to violence, abuse and neglect (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not telling their stories to the Disability Royal Commission, and without the support of individual advocacy to reach out to people and support them to navigate this process these voices will remain silent), education, NDIS, housing and justice. Individual advocacy for First Peoples, by First Peoples who have the trust and confidence of their community is critical and must remain distinct from any NDIS service provision or funding to ensure impartiality.

Decision making support

The need for a Nationally consistent Supported Decision Making Framework goes well beyond the NDIS and formal supported decision making requires skills and competencies that are currently not defined; including within the emerging NDIA market. The Tune Report notes that the role and functions of supported decision making within the NDIS is an area of work that needs to be moved forward. The report also notes that it is not always appropriate for ‘the NDIA or NDIS service providers to provide supported decision-making style supports. Therefore, the Australian

¹³ ‘Understanding disability through the lens of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People – challenges and opportunities’ The Lowitja Institute Policy Brief October 2019 ¹⁴ ‘Review of the National Disability Insurance Act, Removing Red Tape and Implementing the Participant Service Guarantee’ David Tune AOP PSM (2019) https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services-for-people-with-disability-national-disability-insurance-scheme/review-of-the-ndis-act-report, Recommendation 3 FIRST PEOPLES DISABLITY NETWORK 8

Government could consider providing additional funding to third parties who are sufficiently independent from the NDIA to undertake these functions’¹⁵. The NDIA Independent Advisory Council (IAC) has also raised concerns that in its current operation the Support Coordinator role ‘does not require the skill nor the depth of relationship to enable trust and insight critical for effective support for decision making’¹⁶.

How, and by who, decision making support is provided for First Nations peoples with disability at different points on their NDIS pathway, requires careful and informed consideration. This is a sensitive and complex area that cannot be addressed in this consultation. Once again, this must be led by community organisations which best understand aspects such as; local cultural norms and values, community and individual trauma and fear of authorities; informal family networks and current decision making support and processes; and are aware of limitations around culturally competent services in local areas.

Independent Functional Assessments

At the Committee hearing on 12 October, 2020, the NDIA told the Committee that independent functional assessments will be sufficient to determine an access NDIS access request. Mr Hoffman, NDIA CEO stated that the independent functional assessments will give ‘a simpler, faster and fairer basis for making decisions about access to the NDIS and plans’¹⁷.

We acknowledge that for many First Peoples with disability, access to the scheme is hindered by the expectation to produce multiple forms evidence to support their application and demonstrate impairment and the impact that this has on their lives. There are many factors to take into account here, including access to specialist services that are culturally appropriate and responsive, understanding of health and other professionals of what is required, costs of reports and tests, as well as the costs to travel to access services etc.

In proposing the introduction of independent functional assessments, the Tune report notes with concern that;

‘One of the biggest risks in implementing the new functional capacity assessment process will be disengagement – that is, people with disability refusing to interact with any of the NDIA-approved providers. As with the NDIS as a system more generally, this is a particular risk for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, those from CALD backgrounds and those with psychosocial disability’.

And that; ‘Given this, the depth of the NDIA-approved panel of assessors must be sufficient to mitigate any engagement risks for these cohorts as well as any other issues relevant in specific locations, communities, or for particular disability types.’¹⁸

The Committee would be aware of the extreme distress that the announcement of the assessments has caused amongst people with disability, concerns raised directly with the Minister and the NDIA. Whilst the NDIA are currently undertaking a consultation process with disability representative onganisations in relation to the assessments, this process has been rushed, and leaves little

¹⁵ ‘Review of the National Disability Insurance Act, Removing Red Tape and Implementing the Participant Service Guarantee’ David Tune AOP PSM (2019) https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services-for-people-with-disability-national-disability-insurance-scheme/review-of-the-ndis-act-report, P.44, 3.28 ¹⁶ Independent Advisory Council of the NDIS ‘Support for decision making in the NDIS’ July 2019 https://www.ndis-iac.com.au/s/Support- for-decision-making-in-the-NDIS-July-2019.pdf ¹⁷ Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, public hearing October 12, 2020. Evidence from NDIA CEO, Mr Martin Hoffman, accessed in Hansard p.2 ¹⁸ Review of the National Disability Insurance Act, Removing Red Tape and Implementing the Participant Service Guarantee’ David Tune AOP PSM (2019) https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services-for-people-with-disability-national-disability-insurance-scheme/review-of-the-ndis-act-report, P.67, 4.35 FIRST PEOPLES DISABLITY NETWORK 9

opportunity to consult broadly across the community as to the implications for people with disability, their families and carers.

We hold significant concerns in relation to this process for First Peoples with disability, including:

  • The functional assessments have been moved forward based on pilot projects, which had no specific focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. In addition, the data released in relation to the pilots is incomplete and in no way represents proof of effectiveness, or demonstrates positive outcomes for participants.
  • As we detail above, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander NDIA workforce lacks skills and knowledge around how Aboriginality and disability intersect for First peoples with disability, and Aboriginal community-led service provision is not sufficiently developed. We have the same concerns around sufficient skills and knowledge in relation to contracted assessors and question how the NDIA are going to build the trust within communities or gain requisite knowledge or understand of individual circumstances during a proposed 1-4 hour meeting. Findings of the research report Culture Is Inclusion¹⁹ acknowledged the process of relationship building is foremost in dealing with our people.
  • The assessments, it is suggested by the NDIA, will provide more equitable access for all potential participants to eligibility assessment without the need for additional reports, or travel to see specialists. For many First Peoples with disability, particularly those in remote areas, they do not have access to technology and phone required to be able to communicate with the agency and as raised by the Tune Review, are much more likely to either disengage from a process, or not pursue access at the outset where there is no trust or relationship with an independent assessor.
  • It it proposed that assessors will use the same set of assessment tools to ensure ‘everyone is treated in a fair and consistent way’²⁰. We argue that due to the multiple factors affected our community, including; poverty, lack of access to appropriate services, discrimination, and well- founded fear of bureaucratic structures and authority. A one size fit all approach is not appropriate for First Peoples with disability.
  • The NDIA stated in their evidence to the Committee that individuals would be permitted to have support from whoever they choose when undertaking an independent assessment. This points to a number of issues that we have raised – the need to build the capacity of many First Peoples with disability, their families and carers to better understand their rights and entitlements; and the need for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander independent advocacy sector. The suggestion that individuals will be able to access support (including decision making support) to undertake these assessments is not realistic for many First Peoples with disability
  • There has been investment in the community controlled Aboriginal health sector to develop knowledge and skills of health professionals in relation to the NDIS. Whilst there may be the need for ongoing training in relation to the NDIS processes and the social model of disability, investment could be better spent further building capacity of this local, community led, trusted workforce, rather than diverting spending to external contractors.
  • We understand that if an NDIA applicant disagrees with the decision of the independent assessment, that their review would go through the existing internal review and AAT appeal process. Given that the AAT have already made a decision on the use of independent functional assessments that found that the assessment could not be relied upon, we question the cost, and stress that these assessments are likely to present²¹.

¹⁹ Avery, S. (2018) ‘Culture is Inclusion: A Narrative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Disability’ ²⁰ Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, public hearing October 12, 2020. Evidence from NDIA CEO, Mr Martin Hoffman, accessed in Hansard p.2 ²¹ For further information in relation to this AAT ruling regarding Ray and National Disability Insurance Agency AATA 3452, See https://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/aat-ndis-independent-assessment/ FIRST PEOPLES DISABLITY NETWORK 10