Submission to the Inquiry into the General Issues around the Implementation and Performance of the NDIS

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) was a significant reform to support people with disability to meet their needs and be enabled to pursue their interests and potential in society. It provides an important framework to support people with disability. Critically, the NDIS enables people to choose the kind of support that they want for themselves. This is an empowering feature, to trust and give people with disability the power to determine what they need. It is not decided for them, or assumed that all people with disability would want or need the same kind of support. This gives the NDIS a great opportunity, if it was fully funded, to radically improve the situation for people with disability, as it could enable them to get whatever support they need to meet their needs and reach their potential. This could include, for example, getting employment training to seek a job that they want to be employed and have an outlet for their skills and interest.

People with disability know their own lives and how their disability affects them. They also know what they need to be supported with their needs and to have a fulfilling life that they want to live. Listening to people based on their experience and letting them determine their own needs is critical in empowered and person-centred decision making.

It is lamentable that many statistics facing people with disability, such as the relatively low employment rate, has not changed across many years - even with the operation of the NDIS. However, it may be that we have not given the scheme a chance to make a difference were it fully funded based on the needs of the disability community. I was pleased to see Dylan Alcott be awarded Australian of the Year for 2022 and using his position to advocate for people with disabilities (as he has done for a long time). This includes a call to fully fund the NDIS to meet the needs of people with disability and enable them to be the people they want to be. This is not new, but a long-held concern of his and others about the underfunding of the NDIS (see ABC 2019).

Increasing Costs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Given the increasing numbers of people accessing the NDIS scheme (based on having a disability), the cost of the scheme is increasing year-on-year. In itself, we should be willing to pay what is required by the scheme to support however many Australians with a disability need support (which will pay itself back in many cases). However, there can be legitimate concerns about where costs are coming from. If there are cost blowouts or price gouging for disability services, for example, that does not benefit people with disabilities (Brook 2022). Rather, an effective review of costs would enable the scheme to determine how it can more efficiently support people with disabilities into the future, rather than money being taken up by higher than necessary prices.

There may be some assumptions or criticism that the NDIS is too expensive or costly, or that we cannot afford to guarantee or increase the funding for the scheme. However, there are a variety of benefits from fully supporting disability to meet their needs and potential, including for broader society and the economy. Apart from this, people with disability are humans with dignity who should be supported with their basic needs and wellbeing. Moreover, they have interests and skills and a potential to have a fulfilling life and contribute to Australian society. They should be supported, and it is in our interest to do so because that enriches us and builds a stronger society.

Kind Regards, Benjamin Cronshaw.