Submission to Committee Secretary

National Disability Insurance Scheme

Department of the Senate PO Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600

Response to: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.

This submission has been prepared by Amanda Hicks, AASW Allied Health Social Worker with the support of 226 practising NDSI Social Workers.

Enquiries regarding this submission can be directed to:

Amanda Hicks
AASW Social Worker
Awen Case Management & Advocacy

May 2024

Purpose of Submission

My role within writing this report, as a Social Worker and under the AASW Code of Ethics is in promoting a just and fair society through the pursuit of social justice and effective social policy.

In accordance with the concept of disability is its representation in the larger and more complex interaction between an individual with impairment and the structures and processes of society. Our professional standards and ethical guidelines require that we present recommendations that promote fair and equitable therapeutic interventions that support an individual with a disability and are in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and a human rights framework.

This submission is in response to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.

Professional Practice

Knowledge. Professional social workers consider the relationship between biological, psycho logical, social and cultural factors and how they influence a persons health, wellbeing and development. Social workers work with individuals, families, groups and communities.

They maintain a dual focus on improving human wellbeing; and identifying and addressing any external issues (known as systemic or structural issues) that detract from wellbeing, such as inequality, injustice and discrimination (AASW, 2020).

In all contexts, Social Workers operate from a person-in-environment perspective which recognises that individuals can best be understood within the multifaceted context of their environment. With this perspective, Social Workers are well equipped to assess the internal psychological and emotional strengths and needs of a person in interaction with the social, community economic and physical aspects of their situation. Social Workers focus on individual, family, carer and community strengths and needs, taking a holistic approach that includes the individual and systemic factors.

Having conducted their holistic, strengths-based assessments, Social Workers work collaboratively to support people to achieve the lives they want. Along with the person-in- environment approach to assessment, case management and care co-ordination has always been a core skill of the Social Work profession. For Social Workers, care coordination is about developing a relationship with a person that seeks to foster collaborative decision- making in assuring that services are well targeted and person/family-centred. Social Workers understand that care coordination is most importantly about building a positive working relationship with a person in order to develop care plans that address their needs, strengths, and goals (AASW, 2015).

The above are clearly articulated in section 1 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 and support the items addressed below.

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Social Workers are specifically concerned with two suggestions made in the Overview of the

Bill (p61).

“The Bill will also clarify and expand the NDIS rules relating to access provisions, including the methods or criteria to be applied when making decisions about the disability and early intervention criteria and the matters which must or must not be taken into account.”
“Provide for the needs assessment process and the method for calculating the total amount of the participant’s flexible funding and funding for stated supports for new framework plans to be specified in legislative instruments and NDIS rules. These will be developed in consultation with people with disability, the disability community, health and allied health technical professionals, and with all States and Territories.”

Social Workers Reply:

A recent survey of 226 NDIS Social Workers highlighted their significant dissatisfaction within this space. Of 226 respondents, 207 (94.17%) agreed or strongly agreed that the NDIS did not understand the role of Social Workers, and 83.12% of participants did not understand the role of Social Workers. 37.6% of Social Worker were confident of leaving the NDIS. If the NDIS are to continue down the pathway as suggested in this Bill, then they cannot afford to lose this profession and their expertise to inconsistencies in language and education. We are concerned that within the development of access provisions and needs assessments in the Bill, that mandatory qualifications and skills may be overlooked. It is deemed appropriate that only those Allied Health professions that are grounded in human rights and the CRPD, be responsible for the implementation and interpretation of access and needs assessments. If we are to truly take a human rights focus by engaging with Australia’s obligations under the CRPD, then people with a disability must be afforded the accessibility to professions whose ethics and standards are embedded in social justice and human rights. The continuation of focusing on the disability through a criterion based lens, continues to perpetuate disability in Australia.

The pause for concern is again highlighted in the Working together to deliver the NDIS

Independent Review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Final Report October

2023, that stated:

“The new approach to information gathering to inform budgets would require a support

eeds assessment. The assessment should be completed by a skilled and qualified Needs

Assessor who is a trained allied health practitioner or social worker, or similar, with

disability expertise…(p88).

Of concern to Social Workers is the language or being perpetuated by the NDIS in the representation of the profession. The review and subsequent Bill amendment clearly articulate the need for a human rights focus, recognition of the CRPD and a whole-of- person focus for the future stability of the NDSI. However, the Social Work profession seems to have been relegated to an additional profession that is ‘similar, with disability expertise,’ rather than an Allied Health Profession that is of equal value.

Summary

We request for recognition and inclusion of the Social Work profession as an Allied Health Profession within the Bill. Our central role is to enhance the quality of life of every member of society and empower them to develop their full potential. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility, and respect for diversity are central to the profession, and are underpinned by theories of Social Work, social sciences, humanities and Indigenous knowledges. These are the foundations of the new Bill, and Social Workers are concerned that their expertise is being disregarded.

Such specific inclusion would allow for those accessing the NDIS to be confident in the expertise, qualifications and ethical guidelines and standards of Allied Health professions. Limiting the inclusion of clear and concise Allied Health professions, such as Social Work, again offers those living with a disability unequal access to supports, perpetuating disability in Australia.

If we are to adhere to the principles of the NDIS then Social Workers must be acknowledged

alongside other Allied Health colleagues as of equal value. To do anything less continues to

promote those living with a disability as being unworthy of the assistance Social Workers can

provide to improving their daily wellbeing and addressing injustices within the system.

Social Workers are masters of policy development, case management and human

relationships. We interact at the micro, meso and macro levels, have an in depth

understanding of disability rights and the CRPD. This is the minimum standard that

individuals with a disability deserve.

We hope that the NDIS, in the development process of the Bill, considers the necessary and

expert role of Social Work in addressing and supporting the needs of individuals with a

disability, specifically in relation to needs assessments.

Yours sincerely

Amanda Hicks

Accredited Social Worker, Disability Advocate & Learning Specialist MasterSocialWork, MasterPhilEd(research), MasterEdst, GCMentalHealth, BA, GDEd, GCTESOL