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, 21 December 2012 10:51:38 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 grandson was born profoundly brain injured, totally and permanently disabled and requires 24/7 care and always will.

He’s about to turn 13 and my daughter and son-in-law have battled through the current system to obtain even basic requirements, like nappies/continent pants as well as essential items like his wheel chair.

Modification of their home to install disability access was a constant battle with so many different parties culminating in yet another battle to hold out for what they really needed and not what was being pushed on them. The eventual outcome has been perfect for their needs but without the stamina (sadly worn down by the effort required) they would have been stuck with a department solution that impacted not only my grandson but every other member of the family in a negative way.

This month he received only his second wheel chair over his lifetime and that was acquired after a long and arduous battle to hold out for an appropriate chair and not the one “the department” was peddling. Even with my daughter’s up front offer that the family would pay the difference of $1,000 to the totally unsatisfactory model and the one they needed.

Even though the NSW government has moved to a client focused system (which is a big improvement) they still don’t ‘listen’ to the parents/carers when it comes to handing over the funding.

CHOICE is what matters and with the right support and advice parents/carers/the disabled person can make the right decisions for the disabled person as well as the rest of the family. That’s not how the current system works.

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

• Increased ability to coordinate services to suit the “whole” person/family,
• Minimising the number of times people have to tell their story in order to get support,
• People with disability/family will influence the types of support and services offered

The most important services for the NDIS to provide are:

• Equipment and home/vehicle modifications,
• Support for families and carers,
• Flexible in-home/outside home respite

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

I support the NDIS because I have first hand experience of the inadequacies of the current system and believe that for a first world, wealthy country it is a

Submission

disgrace how poorly we address the needs of disabled people in our community. Most importantly it shouldn’t matter whether you are born with or acquire a disability you should be entitled to support, wherever you are, across Australia, not just in major cities. The right for the individual or where that’s not possible the family/carershould be able to determine when, where and on what their allocation of funding isspent.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards,

Mrs Kathleen Ann