National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 [Provisions]

Submission 178

I apologise in advance but I’ve made some notes and I feel I must say something for this legislation change to be stopped or at the very least significantly altered. I haven’t read everything relating to this because I don’t have time, I’m dealing with too many issues related to the NDIS. Since the introduction of the NDIS things are so much harder for us as it is far too complicated and without the personal service we previously had in disability services. Disability services used to be approachable and helpful and now the NDIA are hard to contact and deal with. Everything is too complicated and difficult but even worse, there is no certainty. The uncertainty leads to almost all of the current problems in the market. The NDIS is moving further and further away from the intent of the scheme which is to provide support and the proposed bill in its current form will see vulnerable people made even more vulnerable.

This bill is about reducing costs, not improving the scheme. Some of the old ways could improve things while reducing costs but it seems everything that worked well in old disability systems has been ignored.

This bill seeks to introduce assessments which were already hard fought against and I’d like to know why the disability community has not been heard. This community is always under scrutiny having many assessments throughout their lives, it’s dehumanising. I don’t understand why if someone says they need a wheelchair, they aren’t believed, it’s not a fashion accessory. Surely employing many new assessors instead of using current professionals will drive up the cost of the scheme too. New assessments do not change disability needs at all.

If the assessments are introduced, people need the ability to appeal or challenge any needs assessments in case of errors which we have in most NDIS plans and any appeal will need be don in a timely manner.

We need more protections not less and this legislation takes away some protections from the most vulnerable.

We need clarity of what the rules will be before legislating them, even in draft form - we cannot legislate so much uncertainty.

We need a no disadvantage clause written into any bill and grandfather clauses.

The overspend in the NDIS needs to be addressed in a way with consideration to the cause of the overspending which is fundamentally the pricing arrangements which allow too many ways for people to be invoiced for various things and also the blank cheque approach from registered providers. The poor implementation of the scheme and lack of personalised services by the agency with no easy communication and other inefficiencies need to be addressed. People and their individual needs must be at the centre of the scheme.

No legislation change should be considered without a clear intent to improve the participant experience.

Thank you for your time,

Éva Paluska.