Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme

PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 P: +61 2 6277 3083 E: ndis.sen@aph.gov.au

Friday, 26 March 2021

RE: Independent Assessments

dear chairman and committee members,

i am writing today with regard to independent assessments within the ndis. i write as both the parent of a child with a disability and an allied health professional working with ndis participants and their families. i write towards the terms of reference – d, e, f, g, j, k and l. i would ask that you remove my name if this submission is accepted.

i cannot stress enough how intrusive and inappropriate independent assessments are for people who are currently ndis participants. i appreciate that you may not fully comprehend the reasons for this, but i hope that you reflect fully on the concerns raised in this letter and from the other submissions you will receive in respect to this issue.

as an occupational therapist i spend time building rapport with my clients and their families. This is an important part of the therapeutic process. Families with a child with a disability, both physical and neurological, have been to a range of medical professionals throughout their lifetime. These have included both good and bad experiences, they have met with both understanding and judgemental practitioners, they have spent hours in waiting rooms, on waiting lists and endured the ever-present stigma from society on all aspects of parenting. these families have shared their story many times over, reliving some of the trauma and feelings of inadequacy with each retell. there are some empathetic and supportive practitioners, but there are also those that don’t and can’t understand, and so families have learned to hold back from sharing information readily for fear of judgment and poor advice. sending independent assessors in to meet with families will increase trauma and negativity for these families. I cannot stress this enough. They will have no choice or control over the person who comes into their lives, a concept that is one of the cornerstones of the ndis. There is an expectation on these families that they can and will readily share all relevant information in a 2 hour window where a battery of assessments and questions will be thrown at them. I hope you see this is an offensive and oppressive proposition that takes both choice and control from NDIS participants.

i spent 4 years at university and completed 1000 hours of work experience. i have worked in my field gaining experience and knowledge. there is an expectation for occupational therapists to both continue learning throughout their career and also to plan this learning to benefit the clients on thier case load. For me, this is an important aspect of my Continued Professional Development (CPD) and i work hard to find the right training to best benefit my clients. i spend time completing assessments as and when i see the need and complete observations throughout my sessions. A concise and complete summary of these is included in my reports at the time of ndis plan reviews. Again, it is offensive and disrespectful to undermine that learning, that rapport and that expertise by bringing an independent assessor in to review my clients.

As a parent of a child with a disability

I am equally sickened by the concept of Independent Assessment.

I recently went through a review process for my son’s NDIS Plan. I gathered reports from my son’s therapists and we talked about goals for his next plan and what we needed to achieve them. My son has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Autism Spectrum Disorder (level 2), Epilepsy, Anaphylaxis and Anxiety. He mobilises with a wheelchair and has little expressive language. As you may imagine, we see a lot of therapists (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Play Therapy and Exercise Physiology). My planning and discussions with them were based on their professional expertise and their knowledge of my son.

I ask you to consider, in this example, how an Independent Assessor will be able to fully grasp the needs and requirements of my son when they are likely to only have professional experience in one of these fields. How will they be able to provide an appropriate plan for him without the breadth of knowledge provided by his therapy team?

Our plan review meeting was with our Local Area Coordinator (LAC). Over the course of his plan, we have been in contact on various occasions. I feel comfortable and confident in our ability to work together to plan for my son so he can become the best and healthiest version of himself.

Even with my prior relationship with the LAC, I still felt an incredible amount of anxiety regarding the review process. Each time I am required to retell my son’s life story, I relive the experiences. It’s genuinely hard and truly traumatic. If I was required to go through this with an Independent Assessor my level of anxiety would increase many-fold and I cannot imagine how I would build that into my caring requirements.

As a family we endeavour to look for the positive in our son’s life. He has made great achievements since becoming an NDIS participant, but he is still a long way behind his age peers. This isn’t something I enjoy talking about. I need to feel safe to tell our story and that requires rapport and some level of trust. I won’t have that at all with an Independent Assessor. Again, I ask you to reflect on how you would feel, sharing all your family’s inner workings and “dirty laundry” with a person you don’t know. I challenge you to feel comfortable doing this!

Having said all that, I believe there is potential for Independent Assessments to be helpful for people with a disability to gain access to the NDIS. Many people have reported that they cannot afford the reports required to access the NDIS. Others are unsure where to start. In these cases, I would see an Independent Assessor as a positive addition to the NDIS.

The NDIS is a great scheme. It has provided help to so many people who have been left behind, or fallen through the cracks. Australia should be so proud of this scheme, but I implore you to reconsider Independent Assessment for existing participants.

Thank you for taking the time to read this submission. I would be more than happy to answer any questions the committee may have if required.