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: Saturday, 19 January 2013 11:14:55 AM

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.

The disability system does not work for our family, that is my disabled son, my wife, myself and my other children because, the access to the services is byzantine, in that you need some sort of training to be aware of them and to discover how they can be accessed. For over 35 years, my wife and I have cared for our son with absolutely minimal assistance. When my son was discharged from hospital with profound disability we had to set to to modify our home and alter our whole life to be able to accommodate him and his needs. This has had a profound effect on our other children. As my son has aged, his needs have increased at a time when my wife and i are less capable. Because we appear to be coping we are low on the priority list for assistance with calamitous results when we have an emergency such as when my wife or myself become ill. I myself had a disabling accident recently which put an incredible burden on my wife, yet she was unable to access any assistance. My son does not receive anything like the care and assistance available from the TAC for victims of transport accidents. We need for the national disability insurance scheme to at the very least match what is available to victims of road trauma.

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

• Ensure support and equipment is available when needed,
• The ability to receive services when needed and in the way that suits the person,
• Minimising the number of times people have to tell their story in order to get support,
• 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:

• Therapy and allied health services,
• Equipment and home/vehicle modifications,
• Life-skills,
• Recreation and community access,
• Support for families and carers,
• In-home care and domestic assistance,
• Flexible in-home/outside home respite,
• Case management, planning and coordination

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

I support this scheme firstly because of equity considerations. We need to help the disabled to move from the under privileged to the normal..

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards, Mr John Conway