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: Friday, 18 January 2013 1:21:33 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 dear childhood friend was seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident in 1981, and was rendered a quadriplegic with no movement at all below the neck. In 1984, she went through a third party compensation case and won. She was medically assessed to live for 15 years and was awarded adequate funding for those years. However, to date, she has lived another good healthy productive 13 years, and hopes continue to do so. The third party compensation was a “once an for all” payment, so she has had a continuous battle or over a decade now to secure government funding (battling red tape at every turn) to enable her to continue to live a dignified, independent life. It has only been with the assistance of her close friends (she has no family on whom to rely) that she has been able to “scrape through”. I am now on a Disability Support pension myself, so am not in the position to continue to offer my friend financial support, and if she cannot cover the shortfall in funding, she fac es the very real prospect of being a relatively young, intelligent, vibrant, cheerful, positive and productive member of our community being admitted to an aged cared facility. This would be soul destroying for my friend. This is why I am passionate about the implementation of the NDIS - to prevent anyone else in my friend’s predicament from having to battle day after day to maintain their dignity and independence.

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

• Ensure support and equipment is available when needed,
• People with a disability can choose the types of support to use,
• People with disability can choose who comes into their home

The most important services for the NDIS to provide are:

• Accommodation options,
• In-home care and domestic assistance,
• Case management, planning and coordination

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

I support the NDIS because it will no longer be necessary to establish “fault” before being covered by insurance, and it should eliminate the necessity for a court to determine (guess) the life expectancy of the disabled person. My friend who I spoke about above was rendered a quadriplegic at the age of 24 - it has been a struggle for her ever since to secure adequate funding to cover her living costs. I was disabled some 20 years later, and although not anywhere near the severity of my friend, ANYONE can become DISABLED at any time! We have little control over what the future holds for us - to become disabled is a huge life adjustment in itself for both the person who is rendered that way, and to their family and/or friends. To have financial worries on top of that is an untenable situation, and makes the person feel worthless and a burden on society.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards,

Mr Michael Fraser