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

From: To: Community Affairs, Committee (SEN); Subject: Submission to the Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 Date: Friday, 18 January 2013 1:10:56 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.

My niece is very severely disabled. She is coming to the end of her educational opportunities as an eighteen year old in a few weeks time (she has been in a special school.) She is constantly booked for surgery, her family make arrangements to come into the Royal Children’s from the Mornington Peninsula for an early start, only to find the operation has been cancelled. (Royal Children s have been wonderful support through her life, however). Her parents are divorced, and struggle to manage her care, they worry about her adulthood, and how she will ever be able to achieve a modicum of independence.

My nephew is also disabled. His mother needs to take him to Royal Children’s frequently for operations or equipment fitting, and he misses a lot of time from school. She has great difficulty getting his mainstream High School to provided work and to help him keep up with the curriculum,as no one person at the school coordinates this across the subject areas. He is in year nine, and though very intellectually able he is falling behind.

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

• Better access to education and work opportunities,
• People with a disability can plan their lives and pursue their goals and dreams,
• Older parents and families will not worry what happens when they can no longer provide support

The most important services for the NDIS to provide are:

• Life-skills,
• Accommodation options,
• Flexible in-home/outside home respite

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

I I believe that NDIS or similar scheme is an essential aspect of a governments responsibility to care for all its citizens, so that we can achieve a more respectful and enriched attitude to difference, and so all citizens can achieve their maximum potential in society. I believe in social credit - that the more we invest in people, the more civilized,progressive and happy we become as a society. The converse is also true - self interest, greed and arrogant disregard of people other than the ‘high achievers’ leads to an ignorant, rapacious and closed society. Governments need to lead the way, and I believe the NDIS will be progressive and ground breaking.

Thank you

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards, Amanda Amanda Wedgwood