Blind Citizens Australia  5iC

Ph 1800 033 660 | E bca@bca.org.au  | W bca.org.au | ABN 90 006 985 226

Feedback on the National Disability

Insurance Scheme Amendment (

the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024

Lodged via: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/

Senate/Community_Affairs/NDISAmendment2024

Author: Dr Corey Crawford, National Policy Officer

16th May 2024

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Contents

Blind Citizens Australia 5’iC

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………..3

1.1 About Blind Citizens Australia……………………………………………………………….3

1.2 About people who are blind or vision impaired ………………………………………..3

2. Submission Context …………………………………………………………………………………4

3. Blind Citizens Australia’s Submission …………………………………………………………5

3.1 The need for genuine co-design and collaboration…………………………………..5

3.2 Household appliances and whitegoods as NDIS supports ………………………..6

3.3 Needs assessment………………………………………………………………………………7

4. Summary of Recommendations…………………………………………………………………9

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Introduction

1.1 About Blind Citizens Australia

Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) is the peak national representative organisation of and for the over 500,000 people in Australia who are blind or vision impaired. For nearly 50 years, BCA has built a strong reputation for empowering Australians who are blind or vision impaired to lead full and active lives and to make meaningful contributions to our communities.

BCA provides peer support and individual advocacy to people who are blind or vision impaired across Australia. Through our campaign work, we address systemic barriers by promoting the full and equal participation in society of people who are blind or vision impaired. Through our policy work, we provide advice to community and governments on issues of importance to people who are blind or vision impaired.

As a disability-led organisation, our work is directly informed by lived experience. All directors are full members of BCA and the majority of our volunteers and staff are blind or vision impaired. They are of diverse backgrounds and identities.

1.2 About people who are blind or vision impaired

There are currently more than 500,000 people who are blind or vision impaired in Australia with estimates that this will rise to 564,000 by 2030. According to Vision Initiative, around 80 per cent of vision loss in Australia is caused by conditions that become more common as people age.1

Australians who are blind or vision impaired can live rich and active lives and make meaningful contributions to their communities: working, volunteering, raising families and engaging in sports and other recreational activities. The extent to which people can actively and independently participate in community life does, however, rely on facilities, services and systems that are available to the public being designed in a way that makes them inclusive of the needs of all – including those who are blind or vision impaired.

2. Submission Context

BCA welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee’s inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.

BCA has taken an active interest in matters relating to the NDIS Review. In 2023, BCA held an extensive series of in-person and online consultation sessions with members to gauge the views of people who are blind or vision impaired when it comes to the future of the NDIS.

BCA members recognised that the NDIS has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians. Members also expressed their views as to how to improve the effectiveness of the Scheme.2

This submission is based on those consultations and the following policy frameworks:

• National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 (the Bill).
• National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 – Explanatory Memorandum.
• NDIS Review – Final Report.
• National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) (NDIS Act).
• Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031.
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

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3. Blind Citizens Australia’s Submission

3.1 The need for genuine co-design and collaboration

The need for co-design with people with disability and DROs

We are disappointed that the Commonwealth government has not fulfilled its pledge to co-design the NDIS reforms with the disability community. Consultation with the disability sector, where it occurred, was limited in time and scope.

Effective co-design can yield many benefits.$ In this situation, providing participants with what they actually need would help improve the quality of NDIS supports and reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary spending.

The Bill provides a broad framework for the NDIS reforms, with more detailed Rules set to be drafted in the months ahead. Up to now, the lack of co-design has eroded the disability sector’s trust in government. Going forward, the Commonwealth, state and territory governments must engage in genuine co-design before implementing any future changes to the NDIS.

Co-design is essential, but also laborious and time intensive. Disability representative organisations (DROs) already struggle to complete their daily operational tasks due to a lack of personnel and limited funding. Going forward, it is imperative that DROs receive additional funding to contribute to the NDIS co-design process.

The need for collaboration with states and territories

Genuine and lasting reform of the NDIS can only occur through meaningful cooperation and collaboration between the Commonwealth government and the States and Territories. The Final Report of the Independent Review into the NDIS found that 93 per cent of all government spending on disability in Australia is on the NDIS, leading to the Scheme becoming the proverbial ‘oasis in the desert.’$

The report made clear their view that establishing a baseline of ‘Foundational Supports’ for the millions of Australians with disability who are ineligible for the NDIS will be crucial to ensuring the Scheme remains sustainable. The Commonwealth will

need the support of State and Territory governments to develop, fund and implement

these foundational supports.

This will be painstaking work, especially as since the introduction of the NDIS,

States and Territories have largely withdrawn their provision of disability services. However,

it is nevertheless essential that all governments across Australia work collaboratively

to ensure all Australians have access to appropriate disability supports.

Recommendations:

• Engage in a genuine co-design process before implementing any future

changes to the NDIS

• Provide disability representative organisations with the resources needed to

partake in genuine co-design.

• Collaborate with States and Territories to develop, fund and implement

foundational supports for the millions of Australians with disability who are

ineligible for the NDIS.

3.2 Household appliances and whitegoods as NDIS

supports

Under the current NDIS Act, there is no clear definition of what an NDIS support is.

As such, the Bill inserts a proposed new section 10 (after section 9A) which provides

a definition of ‘NDIS support.’ The Explanatory Memorandum says:

‘This new definition assists participants by providing clear guidance on

what supports they can access through the NDIS. For example, things

such as holidays, groceries, payment of utility bills, online gambling,

perfume, cosmetics, standard household appliances and whitegoods

will not qualify as NDIS supports.’

It is important for the Scheme’s sustainability that NDIS funds are not wasted on

potentially harmful activities like online gambling or luxury consumer goods like

perfume.

It is equally important to recognise that for people who are blind or vision impaired,

having access to household appliances and whitegoods with disability-specific

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features, such as an induction stove with a talking function, can provide the practical support and confidence needed to live independently.

Even after receiving extensive support from occupational therapists, some people who are blind or vision impaired do not feel confident living independently without such appliances and whitegoods.5

Recommendation:

4. Recognise that household appliances and whitegoods with disability-specific features encourage independent living for people who are blind or vision impaired.

3.3 Needs assessment Needs assessment tool In future, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) ‘will no longer determine whether each support a participant seeks funding for is reasonable and necessary. Instead, it will develop a more flexible budget for each participant, based on a “needs assessment” designed to determine what supports a person needs.’6 According to the Explanatory Memorandum, ‘Subsection 32L(8) allows the Minister, by legislative instrument, to determine the … assessment tools to be used in undertaking needs assessments.’ In addition, the ‘needs assessment tool (or tools) will be highly technical and developed in consultation with the disability sector and medical and professional experts, as well as relying on international learning and best practice.’ As explained above, it is essential that the assessment tool(s) are the product of meaningful consultation and genuine co-design with the disability sector. The Bill does not clarify who will conduct the needs assessment. The NDIS Review recommended that needs assessors be allied health practitioners or social workers with disability expertise. It is essential that the Minister appoints needs assessors with disability expertise. More specifically, it is essential that there are needs assessors who understand the history and unique needs of people who are blind or vision impaired.

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Recommendations:

• Ensure that the assessment tool(s) are the product of meaningful consultation and genuine co-design with the disability sector.

• Require the Minister to appoint needs assessors with disability expertise, particularly as it relates to blindness and vision impairment.

Lack of review mechanism

As explained by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre:

‘a “needs assessment” would not be a “reviewable decision” under section 99 of the NDIS Act and cannot be reviewed through internal or external review. This means the Bill does not provide a way for a participant to challenge an inappropriate needs assessment – and therefore to prevent an inadequate budget being set based on that needs assessment.’

This is a concerning development. BCA often represents members seeking to review decisions made by the NDIA, both through the NDIA’s internal review mechanism and, when necessary, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The NDIA still often struggles to understand the specific needs of people who are blind or vision impaired, as evidenced by the frequency with which the NDIA produces inaccessible documents. It is therefore essential that participants continue to have the option to request a review.

This is especially true given the centrality of the needs assessment process to the reformed NDIS. Denying participants the opportunity to review needs assessments will inevitably lead to sub-optimal outcomes for people who are blind or vision impaired.

Recommendation:

• Create a mechanism that allows participants to review decisions made by needs accessors.

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Summary of Recommendations

Senators who sit on the Community Affairs Legislation Committee should consider

BCA’s following recommendations:

• Engage in a genuine co-design process before implementing any future

changes to the NDIS.

• Provide disability representative organisations with the resources needed to

partake in genuine co-design.

• Collaborate with States and Territories to develop, fund and implement

foundational supports for the millions of Australians with disability who are

ineligible for the NDIS.

• Recognise that household appliances and whitegoods with disability-specific

features encourage independent living for people who are blind or vision

impaired.

• Ensure that the assessment tool(s) are the product of meaningful consultation

and genuine co-design with the disability sector.

• Require the Minister to appoint needs assessors with disability expertise,

particularly as it relates to blindness and vision impairment.

• Create a mechanism that allows participants to review decisions made by

needs accessors.

Public Interest Advocacy Centre, “Explorer on the ‘Getting the NDIS Back on Track’ Bill,”\r\n18 April 2024, https://piac.asn.au/2024/04/18/explainer-getting-the-ndis-back-on-track-bill/\r\n\r\nIbid.\r\n\r\nBlind Citizens Australia | Page 10 of 10