Independent Assessments.

Firstly, can I thank you for undertaking an inquiry into The Independent Assessments that are being rolled out by the NDIS.

If I could start by giving a brief outline about our family member and indeed our family circumstances.

Our 31 year old son has been an NDIS Participant since 2016 and has had Intellectual Disability since birth as well as a diagnosis of a Rare Genetic Disorder called Cowdens Syndrome as well as Behavioural and Mental Health Issues.

Both parents care for our son as well as dealing with our own chronic and serious health issues and are Self- Managing his NDIS Plan on his behalf.

For our Son, the NDIS has been positive in the aspect that he has been able to get out more into and be part of his local community on his terms by being able to choose what he wishes to do and when. He can make the decision to deal with the people he wishes to deal with and on what terms he wishes to do so. He has the ability to make choices about his life which gives him control, just like many in Society do and we feel Independent Assessments will take away his choice and control.

While, there is no argument that the NDIS needs to be improved we don’t believe that the use of Independent Assessments is the right tool to help facilitate improvement for the following reasons:

• The Assessment Tools being considered for use are not fit for purpose and will fail to give an accurate picture of the needs of the Participant.

• The Assessment Tools do not take into account the specific circumstances of Participants nor does it take into account that every disability is different and they don’t fit into neat little boxes. An example of this are that many questions are Yes or No there is no in between answers, for instance if a Participant is asked if they can catch Public Transport YES/NO. What happens if the Participant answers Yes but they can only do so with assistance? There is no scope in these assessments for a qualified answer.

• The use of Independent Assessments fails to take into account that for many people with Disabilities they need to feel comfortable with people in order to open up and discuss aspects of their lives so having familiar people do assessments will often get a more accurate picture of needs.

. For many people with Disabilities our son included they quite often can’t or don’t cope being discussed/ talked about, yet these assessments are to be compulsory regardless of the stress and in many cases trauma they will cause.

. Independent Assessments fail to take in the diverse nature of Disabilities such as Intellectual Disabilities, Dual and Multiple Disabilities and in particular Psycho- Social Disabilities and using these assessments will have disastrous consequences.

. The Providers undertaking these assessments could be anybody, we already have had instances where while these people may be qualified they certainly were not qualified in the specific circumstances and needs of the Participant they were assessing. Add to that the limited timeframe of these assessments, I am doubtful the Providers will have an accurate reflection of the needs of the Participant which will have a negative impact on a person’s NDIS Plan.

. As a Parent of a Participant with Intellectual Disabilities whose child more often than not relies on me to speak for him because he gets so overwhelmed and will not engage sometimes with his own Medical Specialists he has known for years. I will tell you these Independent Assessments will not work for him.

. There is no Ave for appeal if you disagree with a plan, given access to the AAT is being removed. Whilst, it is true that you can ask the NDIS for a review that may also be refused. That will leave a Participant disadvantaged.

. The NDIS is failing or has failed to think about what if any unintended consequences there may be in using Independent Assessments as a tool.

. If there are concerns about Medical Specialists and so called “Sympathy Bias” then shouldn’t the NDIS be taking that up with Dr’s groups rather than demonising People with Disabilities?

Many Thanks for taking the time to consider our submission and I will be watching this carefully.