Independent Assessments

                                  Submission 128

Dear Committee Members,

I am writing to you to put forward my objection to the NDIA bringing in independent assessments.

I am 45 years old and have a condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a progressive disorder & I get weaker as time goes by. I require 24hr a day physical support, am on a ventilator full time & the only things I can do for myself is drive my wheelchair and use a computer.

My life has improved since I started with the NDIS 3 years ago. One of the reasons my life has improved is because I can now access advice from occupational therapists, physiotherapists and other EXPERTS ON MY SPECIFIC CONDITIONS. I am now getting the therapies and equipment that are tailored specifically to my needs. Things are going so well for me now that I am now starting a Diploma of Counselling. In the past study was out of the question, but now thanks to getting the right supports, I can finally look to getting an education that down the track may lead to employment.

Calling these independent assessments is misleading. The assessments are not actually independent because the assessors are actually being paid directly by the Government, which you would agree is a conflict of interest.

If I am forced to go to an independent assessor that has no prior knowledge in the specific needs of my condition, please tell me how the assessor is going to not only understand my disability, but give me the correct advice and give recommendations to others? It would be like going to a biochemist and asking for mechanical advice about an aeroplane!

My life is complicated & not always easy, but worthwhile thanks to the NDIS. If Independent Assessments go ahead, I am scared not only for my future, but for all people with disabilities. Through getting the right support, people with a disability are finally starting to glimpse and dream about a prosperous future. It would be an absolute tragedy for a whole generation of people who finally have hope to live a full and meaningful life, to have their dreams crushed by making fundamental changes to the NDIS without fully consulting people with disability.

I urge you to make the right decisions to make the NDIS stay true to its original vision.

Your Faithfully Scott Harry