National Disability Insurance Scheme

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

Gippsland Disability Advocacy Inc.

Submission

Prepared by Leanne Wishart, Executive Officer

About GDAI Inc

GDAI is funded by the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to provide information, advocacy support and referral to specialist services as may be appropriate.

GDAI provides outreach support to people with disabilities across the six regional LGAs of Gippsland in Victoria. The Gippsland Region is 41,556 sq. kms in area.

GDAI has a demonstrated commitment to the principles of access and equity, with a firm ongoing commitment to the principals of current best practise to provide high quality support to clients.

Gippsland Disability Advocacy Incorporated (GDA) provides advocacy support, advice and referrals for people living with disability.

GDA has been a champion for the rights of people with disabilities since 1986. As the largest independent provider of professional advocacy services in the Gippsland region, we are dedicated to supporting and defending the interests of those who are marginalised and

Mission

To advocate and promote social justice and equitable access for people living with disability.

Our Vision Statement

A local professional advocacy service driving change and empowering people living with disability to exercise their rights.

Contact:

• Leanne Wishart, Executive Officer
  • Email:

Submission

Gippsland Disability Advocacy’s Inc. was a part of the Disability Advocacy Network Australia – DANA – Consulting group which formulated a response to the request for submissions into the Senate Committee Inquiry into National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.

GDAI’s submission herewith, is concise and supports the recommendations of the DANA National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No.1) Bill 2024 [Provisions] May 2024.

The recommendations of this DANA submission are as follows and GDA has highlighted those recommendations that are of particular importance to GDAI as an organisation.

DANA Submission on NDSeBill (Final).p DANA submission imbedded.

List of Recommendations (DANA)

Needs Assessment – Co-Design

• Sections 32K and 32L of the Bill be amended to include a requirement that people with disability must play a leadership role in the design and implementation of reforms to the NDIS, including related legislation, subordinate legislation, and Ministerial determinations, including direct engagement with Disability Representative Organisations, the Independent Advisory Council, and a public consultation process.

• Trials must be conducted of the proposed needs assessment and budget setting processes, with full, transparent reviews and evaluations, which are co-designed with people with disability to test the process before wide-scale implementation.

• Ensure those instruments and frameworks are reviewed 6, 12 and 18 months after implementation, then yearly after that, with evaluation and impact statements tabled in the Australian Parliament.

• The Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS reviews the impact of the needs assessment process and budget setting mechanism within 12 months and reports publicly. The NDIA is to make any further changes as needed to ensure fairness, equity, and essential support provision.

Needs Assessment – General Legislative Principles

• Include a legislative requirement that the assessment process and assessment tool (or choice of tool) is codesigned with people with disability and Disability Representative Organisations.

• Amend subsection 32L (3) to require the assessor to conduct a whole-of-person assessment.

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Needs Assessment - Copy Provided to Person

9.

Amend section 32L (5) to require the assessor to provide a copy of the final report to the user as well as the NDIA.

Needs Assessment - Draft and Re-Assessment Provisions

10.

Amend section 32L to ensure a process for people to identify errors needing correction in any report by a needs assessor by issuing the person a draft copy of the assessment.

11.

Amend section 32L to ensure that draft can be assessed (or associated nominee) for a minimum of 14 days before a finalised version is provided to the agency.

Needs Assessment – External Material and Views of Support Team

14.

Amend section 32K and 32L to ensure there is scope for people to introduce reports or information from their support team as part of the needs assessment and budget setting process that will be developed with people with disability.

15.

Amend section 32L (4) to ensure that the needs assessments and budget setting process have regard to a person’s self-assessment, a person’s support team to provide information and context to the assessor, not just information requested or that already in records.

NDIS Supports Definition – Co Design

17.

Section 10 of the Bill be amended to include a requirement that people with disability must play a leadership role in the design and implementation of rules enabling or limiting the use of certain supports under the scheme.

18.

A broad ban on white goods and appliances, as discussed by the Explanatory

Memorandum

Memorandum should not form part of the Rules.

19. Add a provision to section 10 stating that rules cannot be made prohibiting certain supports from the scheme with the intent that they be provided through state-based systems or ‘Foundational Supports’ unless they are practically available to people.

NDIS Supports Definition – Initial principles uncertain

20. Amend section 10 (1)(a) to preserve the flexibility and breadth of the different types of disability supports that people require. Where the government seeks to implement principles about supports from the CRPD, those should be implemented in full.

NDIS Supports Definition – APTOS Principles not suitable

21. That the bill is amended to remove the application of NDIS support definition in subsection 34 (f) to ‘old framework’ plans, remove the APTOS tables from s 124, and ensure that the new definition only applies to new framework plans in sections 32C-32L. This should also extend to the enforcement sections of the Bill in section 46.

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22. Ensure that the current framework of existing plans continues until rules are developed and foundational supports are developed, established, and available to people with disability.

Shift away from whole of person approach in ‘old framework’ plans

23. Remove section 34 (1)(aa) from the current Bill.

Requests for information have disproportionate penalties

24. Amend section 36 (3)(a) to extend the timeframe to respond to requests for information relating to a plan review to 90 days as a minimum and preserving the flexibility to amend in the event an extension is required.

25. Amend sections 30 and 36 to provide flexibility in timeframes and the request where a person must rely on others to request information or is unable to provide that information for reasons outside of their control.

26. Amend the suspension powers in sections 30 and 36 to stress that these powers should only be used as a measure of last resort (and not as an immediate consequence of non-compliance) and require the Agency to constructively engage with the participant before they are exercised.

27. Include a provision in the participant service guarantee to ensure that decisions relating to the suspension of plans or access requiring a response to internal review requests made in relation to these provisions. If a decision is not made within this time, access to a plan should be immediately restored.

28. Direct referral to an independent disability advocate should take place if the use of these powers is considered.

Plan Management Rules

29. Further detail the test in section 43 (2)(2C)(a) about what constitutes a ’physical,

Mental Or Financial Harm

mental or financial harm’ to the participant and stress that this power should only be used as a last resort.

Section Amendments

• Remove section 43 (2)(2C)(b) from the Bill.

• Amend the bill to include section 43 (2) of the Bill as its own reviewable decision in section 99 of the Act, so that people can contest their plan-management without reviewing the rest of the plan.

Access Changes

• Remove access rule amendments in section 27 from the Bill.

• Remove amendments to section 24 and 25 from the Bill.

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