Independent Assessments Submission 36
After the announcement of independent assessments from NDIS I have lost all hope.
When this scheme came out it was hope for us disabled people. We were told that it was for life and that we wouldn’t have to keep proving our disability. I was reassured of this many times.
Now they are saying we are doing independent assessments for basically everything and are re assessing people and trying to get them off the scheme. I have been lied to. I am very very angry and have given up hope on a good future.
They are becoming inhumane like centrelink. Do they not realise the amount of trauma these so called independent assessments do? They won’t be independent. They will favour the gov rehetric of cutting services and of cutting funding and trying to say we don’t need NDIS.
What can I do to make this not happen. Please do everything in your power to make this not happen. This cannot be allowed to go ahead. It goes against the whole spirit and idea of the scheme.
A person who you have never met cannot make a good assessment. A standardised assessment cannot cover all types of disabilities. The constant invasive process is traumatising and is harming the wellbeing of people with disabilities. They are harming us.
I have become disengaged because of the harms that the system has done. And I’ve barely had contact with it. This move will make things worse for my and many others in my community. People who have invisible conditions and who have episodic conditions may be even more impacted.
This new move will make things worse. NDIS was sold to us as for life. For our lifetimes and about support for our lives. Not about having to keep proving we have a disability and keep being under the medical model. The constant threat of being too “capable” and being kicked off isn’t going to allow people to improve their lives and have a good life. Just because we are capable and have skills and talents doesn’t mean we don’t have a disability. It doesn’t mean we don’t need support for our DISABILITY. This is a DISABILITY support scheme - to have a life that is equal to non disabled people. Being capable doesn’t erase your disability. How can an “independent assessment” that focuses on “your capacity” going to show what our “disability support” needs are? It can’t. It is a waste of time.
NDIS is a life long support and its just the level of funding and support that will vary with our needs. Now with “independent assessors” they are saying we will re assess your eligibility every single time. This is so so harmful. The so called independent standardised assessment is dehumanising and insulting and degrading. We were told that it was for life and once you have been assessed you are on it for life. So the idea they are even trying to get people off is stupid - we need a permanent disability to even get on the scheme in the first place.
This announcement from NDIS broke me. It squashed what little hope I had for the future. I no longer trust that my human rights will be upheld.