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 11:04:45 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.

I am 53 years old and have Heart Failure (NYHA stage 3) and currently don’t qualify for any level of support, despite my impairment. In the absence of qualifying for social security I am ineligible for all of the services currently available to others suffering the same illness. In conjunction to this, I am excluded from many services ‘by age’, having developed the condition somewhat pre-maturely. My husband’s income excludes us from being issued with a health care card, so all medical services and medications are accessed at full price, eating into the family budget and limiting choices to pursue a pleasurable quality of life. Chronic illness means that I am home a lot, consuming energy 24/7 and without any subsidy. I’m not old enough to collect my superannuation and have moved further away from pension age, due to recent changes that are tied to the year that I was born (1959)! The current system fails me in every possible way! I am, I suspect like a number of others… a ‘hidden statistic’ in the Disability circuit, and therefore I am not catered for, and I fear that I am likely to continue to be over-looked in the new planned changes.

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

• People with a disability can choose the types of support to use,
• People with a disability can plan their lives and pursue their goals and dreams,
• 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:

• Therapy and allied health services,
• Equipment and home/vehicle modifications,
• In-home care and domestic assistance

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

It creates a level of support that can be tailored to individual needs.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards,

Ms Michelle Elliott