NDIA Accountability Project

Low wellbeing for family carers

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Spam: Submission to the Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012

From: To: Community Affairs, Committee (SEN); Subject: Spam: Submission to the Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 Date: Thursday, 17 January 2013 4:52:57 PM

Please consider this email a formal submission by me to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012.

The current disability system has many problems that need to be addressed.

Family carers have the lowest level of wellbeing of any group, as found by A 2007 study by the Australian Centre on Quality of Life and School of Psychology, Deakin University found that family carers have the lowest level of wellbeing of any group. If more people with disability receive the right supports when needed, they will be able to participate and learn more at school, go to TAFE and university and get jobs that use their skills and enable them to contribute productively to the nation. They won’t need to live on the disability support pension or beg charities to help pay for essential disability equipment. And they won’t need to rely on a lifetime of unpaid support by families. Enabling more people with disability to enter paid employment will have a positive flow-on effect, as more family carers are then able to re-enter the workforce.

Current system is reactive and not client focused. The sector is highly fragmented which creates significant difficulty when trying to navigate your way through support services. Families already have heightened emotional, social, financial pressures and this is made all the more difficult with the never-ending administrative load that engulfs the family unit. Currently people with disabilities are not given the same opportunity for choice that other people in the community have - this is particularly evident in the education sector, at ALL levels. This current framework creates a discriminatory focus rather than one that celebrates celebrates diversity to its core.

The main features of the NDIS that will make a difference to the community are:

  • People with a disability can choose the types of support to use,
  • Better access to education and work opportunities,
  • People with a disability can plan their lives and pursue their goals and dreams

The most important services for the NDIS to provide are:

  • Therapy and allied health services,
  • Education support (technology/services/equipment),
  • Flexible in-home/outside home respite

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

The NDIS is critical to the evolution of diversity in Australia. The proposed support model will benefit all people. In Australia we embrace diversity at many levels. Now is the time to extend this and ensure it becomes our core belief. It is time that we celebrate diversity and that people living with disability are given appropriate support services. The NDIS will be the catalyst to unite us in our differences. With this diversity comes strength and opportunity for EVERYONE*, The one human race.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards,

Ms Georgie Osborne