30th March 2021
RE: Access and Eligibility Policy with Independent Assessors
good morning,
i am writing to you as an ndis ot provider in perth who is concerned about the proposed
ndia independent assessor (ia) service model that is scheduled to roll out june 2021.
the ndis is an amazing scheme that offers people with disability (pwd) opportunities to
access the necessary supports and services they require to continually be in the driver’s seat
in their life. pwd experience intangible, complex and dynamic environmental barriers that
requires specific skills, experience and training to understand and measure.
from the list of ia providers that was released, i am concerned that due to the non-
specificity of the assessors' qualifications and clinical practice backgrounds, this will increase
the risk of poor quality control of the assessment outcomes between individual to
individual. high variability of assessment outcomes as a result of lack of skill, education or
training, decreases the individuals right to accessing equitable and just supports and
services based on their individual's needs.
furthermore, i am concerned that the list of approved standardised assessments that will be
utilised to quantify an individual’s care needs and functional capacity are; too limited in
number, reinforcing this idea of "one size fits all" and; do not require any pre-requisite
competency training to administer or interpret, and therefore runs the risk of unintentional
misuse and negligence if carried out by an ia that does not possess adequate knowledge or
skills to evaluate the results at the functional, individual level. while standardised
assessments do have a role in assessing of the individual’s capacity, the use of non-specific
assessments used in isolation of all other assessments, eliminates person-centred practice
and therefore achieves the exact opposite of what the ndis is built upon, limiting the
person's right to being seen as an individual.
the proposed support model that the ia model will be used to guide plan outcomes will be
based on life stages as oppose to functional capacity at any given time, reinforces this
incorrect notion that disability is a linear and static experience, unaffected by external
barriers and relationships within the world around them. there is a risk that the outcome of
this model will result is even further disability experienced by the individual due to
insufficient access to necessary supports and may actually continue to widen the social gap
between pwd and the rest of the population therefore contributing to ongoing social
stigma and attitudes about disability that far greater limit a person's capacity.
in conclusion, the proposed implementation of the ia dehumanises the assessment and
planning process and no longer places the individual at the driver’s seat of their life.
Thank you for taking the time to read my submission,
Warm regards,