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, 21 December 2012 10:14:02 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.

• Inadequate funding for the disability system means clients’ concerns are rarely acknowledged, let alone addressed;

• Inadequate funding means few potential disability system professionals can ‘afford’ the long-term dedication to an industry returning far less to their pockets than their personal, academic and professional investments throughout their careers. That long-term dedication to their clients’ concerns is critically required to coerce those disabled clients to learn to help themselves, and that is, I believe, the essence of any effective disability rehabilitation.

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

Better access to mainstream support and services, More employment of people with disability and less reliance on social welfare, The ability to receive services when needed and in the way that suits the person

The most important services for the NDIS to provide are:

Employment support, Case management, planning and coordination, Interpreters and other communication support

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

EVERYONE else in our society seems able to afford effective insurance for their lifestyle concerns, they being their homes, their cars, their businesses, their operational continuation, yet the disabled cannot afford to - nor are allowed to - isure their social continuation.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards,

Ms Katrina Kincade-Sharkey