Ref: D No. 08/2013
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL of TRADE UNIONS (ACTU)
Comments on the draft
National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012
The ACTU is the peak body representing 47 unions and almost two million working Australians and their families. We have been longstanding advocates of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and we welcome the opportunity to provide some further comments on the draft bill in support of the submissions prepared by two of our affiliates, the Health Services Union and United Voice.
The ACTU is well aware that the current system for people with disabilities is broken. As a result, many Australians with disability are denied the care and support they need to live a meaningful life. We are also concerned about the low number of people with disability of working age engaged in the labour market. Almost one in five working age Australians are reported to have a disability, and of these, only around 54% are in paid employment, compared to an 83% participation rate for workers without a disability.1 Employment participation rates for Australians with a disability have not improved since 2003, despite the fact that participation rates more generally have improved as the economy has strengthened. One of the main barriers to employment for people with disability is the lack of services and support, with 34.3% of people with a disability requiring more formal assistance than they are currently receiving.2 Better funding for community programs and services can therefore lead to an increased capacity for people with disabilities to more fully engage in their communities, including through paid work where appropriate.
In recognition of this issue, at the 2009 ACTU Congress, the Australian union movement called on the federal government to consider the development of a national disability insurance scheme. The government heeded this call and quickly took action by requesting the Productivity Commission to undertake a public inquiry into a long-term
1 ABS Cat. 4102.0. ‘Disability and Work’, Australia Social Trends, March Quarter 2012 2 ‘Disability 2010-2011: Comparing performance across Australia’, COAG Reform Council. Pg 23. 1
disability support scheme. We supported the Productivity Commission’s proposal for a financially sustainable system to provide people with disability access to the services they need. Such a scheme will be of particular benefit to people who, due to the circumstances surrounding their injury or disability, currently fall through the cracks of existing compensation schemes (for example, relating to traffic or workplace accidents).
We provided further support for the NDIS through our 2012 Congress, and have noted with interest the development of the proposed scheme. It is in this context that we welcome the draft National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 as an important milestone in the establishment of an NDIS. We broadly support the provisions of this bill and are pleased at the progress that has been made thus far.
The draft bill comprehensively sets out the key principles that will underpin the scheme. We support these principles, noting in particular the recognition of people’s rights to self determination and the important link between access to services, social inclusion and the capacity for employment.
In general, the bill is well drafted and clearly sets out the important aspects of an insurance scheme. We do, however, have a few suggestions for improvements to the bill.
In particular, we note with some disappointment that the bill as it is currently worded makes no reference to the importance of building a strong and sustainable workforce of caring professionals. This is of particular concern given that it is expected that the NDIS will lead to an increased need for workers within the disability sector. To ensure that the NDIS can meet the needs of people with disability, we need to build workforce capacity and ensure that staff have the training, skills and support they need to meet the increased demand for their services. The government should give serious consideration as to how it will attract new workers into the industry. We would suggest that there are a large number of disadvantaged or long-term unemployed jobseekers who, with the appropriate support, could potentially fulfill this increased demand. The government should consider investing in additional employment service programs and resources to train jobseekers for positions within the disability sector.
The provision of services to people with disability must not come at the expense of existing wages and conditions of their carers. Ensuring decent working conditions for caring professionals will attract more carers into careers within the industry, and will lead to a more sustainable and skilled workforce that can better meet the expansion in services that will result from the NDIS. Although, of course, all workers are covered by existing legislation such as the Fair Work Act, the NDIS bill would be greatly improved if these legislative instruments were properly referenced in the bill itself, thereby ensuring that registered support providers must meet these minimum standards as a condition of their registration. A similar provision is already in operation with regards to government procurement decisions through the Fair Work Principles, which requires tenderers to sign a declaration to the effect that employees are treated fairly with minimum wages and conditions in accordance with the relevant legislation. An equivalent requirement could easily be inserted into section 70 of the proposed bill.
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Registered support providers should also have to demonstrate some minimum level of criteria, qualifications and standards, with provision for registration to be revoked if the provider fails to meet minimum standards. Without this, the bill is open to rorting from unscrupulous ‘fly-by-night’ operators that could take advantage of the system in order to rip off people with disabilities. We have already heard reports of scammers preying on people with disabilities by requesting them to pay an ‘administration fee’ to access the NDIS.3 Without appropriate standards and checks and balances written into the bill, it is feared that further instances of exploitation will result.
Service providers should also be encouraged to invest in their workforce by offering securing, ongoing, permanent work to carers, rather than employing through labour hire agencies or other forms of precarious employment. This encouragement could be in the form of a best practice guide or other educative materials on the benefits of a secure, skilled and sustainable workforce.
Overall we feel that this bill is an important step forward and the government should be applauded for taking action to help Australians with disability and their families. We would urge the government to continue to work closely with key stakeholders, including unions, to ensure that workforce needs are being met and that carers and people with disability are not being taken advantage of through this process. We look forward to the day when the NDIS is finally legislated and implemented to the benefit of the Australian community. Future generations will herald the NDIS as a visionary reform in line with other union-supported initiatives such as Medicare and compulsory superannuation.
If you have any further queries, please contact Cassandra Devine
Yours sincerely,
Ged Kearney
President
15 February 2013