National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Participant Service Guarantee and Other Measures) Bill 2021
Submission 52
8 November 2021
Senator Wendy Askew Chair of the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs Legislation Committee PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600
Submitted via community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
deep Dear Senator,
Re National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Participant Service Guarantee and Other Measures) Bill 2021
The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Participant Service Guarantee and Other Measures) Bill 2021 to the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs, Legislation Committee.
The APA endorses the feedback submitted to this consultation by Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) on behalf of its members representing allied health professions in Australia.
AHPA welcomes many of the amendments as necessary for effective implementation of the Participant Service Guarantee (‘the Guarantee’), including proposed requirements for greater transparency and accountability and clearer timeframes associated with NDIS processes. However, AHPA is very concerned that the process of these legislative reforms has not been adequately informed by the principles of participant choice and control that the NDIA and the NDIS Act 2013 (‘the Act’) espouse.
Background: Physiotherapy and Disability
Physiotherapy is a highly regulated discipline with expert knowledge, skills and training in understanding how people move and learn to move, and the development of movement, specifically, as these relate to the health, well-being and quality of life of people of all ages. Physiotherapists are trained in the biomechanics of movement, combining knowledge of physics, physiology and anatomy to analyse movement and determine movement difficulties.
Physiotherapists are movement and participation experts in disability who provide expertise in improving function, participation and building capacity. Physiotherapists analyse an individual’s quality of movement, identify motor impairment, and investigate the interrelationship between movement and other neurological and physiological factors such as sensory perception and pain.
Physiotherapists are committed to providing evidence-based, client centred, safe and high-quality care to people with disability and contributing to an effective and equitable disability sector.
Physiotherapists promote social inclusion through optimising a person’s function and encouraging participation and inclusion in the economic and social life of the community.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Participant Service Guarantee and Other Measures) Bill 2021
Submission 52