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, 22 December 2012 3:37:52 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.

It is a matter of freedom to be able to do day to day tasks that (normal people) take for granted,we are not able to make plans to go out (which is usually once a week if youare lucky), there is not enough respite houses for the amount of people who are in need of a break . the system may be okay for people who have extended families but 9 times out of 10 the family assistance is non eistant, and parents or in a lot of cases parent sole have to deal with daily behaviours that actually end up wearing us down til we get to the stage because our health is suffering we are in dire need of help and it is not available until there is an emergency, In my case I had sleepless nights for 20 years which I had to deal with on my own, I did not deal with it very well in the end begged a doctor to help me to get my child to sleep, antidepressants are a wonder drug and I could finally sleep , but the damage was done to my body and I ended up in hospital and my child shoved between 2 hous es , because there was nothing available. For myself and my child it was the worst time imaginable ,I would ather we had died than have my child go through the ordeal of not knowing what was going on, or where I was,The world and our government don’t seem to have a lot of understanding as to what we as parents go through for our children, what we sacrifice for the love of our children, BUT they do have empathy for those who can vote or speak for them selves,.there is a type of disability that nobody understands or wants to recognise and that is people with severe behavioural and mental issues ,these issues make it very difficult for those around them to put up with on a long term basis and these issues are not getting enough funding to accomodate these problems or the people who deal with them day to day. I feel to make the government realise what a difficult life we as carers live they need to have a forum with representatives from the caring community and reps from the go vernment ….

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,
• Better access to mainstream support and services,
• More opportunities to participate in the community,
• More employment of people with disability and less reliance on social welfare,
• More rights for people with a disability,
• People with a disability can plan their lives and pursue their goals and dreams,
• People with disability can choose who comes into their home,
• The ability to receive services when needed and in the way that suits the person,
• Increased ability to coordinate services to suit the “whole” person/family,
• Less red tape, with planning done locally by people who know their community,
• Access to reliable information about support options,
• Removal of age barriers to services for children,
• People with disability/family will influence the types of support and services offered,
• 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

Support for families and carers

Flexible in-home/outside home respite, Crisis and emergency support

I support the introduction of the NDIS.

I am hoping it will help give people and their carers more flexibility and more access and availability to access help for day to day living and support outside the home for the disabled and their carers, because the hardest thing you as a carer will ever have to do is give up your child because you are unable to care for them anymore, but in reality it is something that must be done before it gets to that stage, so I am hoping that elderly carers who still keep their children at home because they are afraid of the lack of care and availability of houses out there do come to realise their childen are individuals who, no matter what their disability have the right to be placed in a home , NOT WHEN THEIR PARENTS ARE GONE but while we are alive so we can monitor and make sure everything is going well,we as a nation have a responsibility to these people and their carers to look after them because as we did not give up our children we have saved our government MILLIONSof dollars o ver the years by not putting them in institutions, and the government needs to realise and respect that fact.

I agree for my submission to be made public

Regards,

ms marchelle withers