To the Senators reviewing the proposed NDIS Bill
Apologies for not using a template or sending this as a document file addressing the points one by one, but this submission was composed on my mobile phone, as it could not be sent any other way.
While I do not dispute that the NDIS needs reform to continue to keep disabled Australians safe and give them a dignified life, I do not believe that the current bill as proposed will fulfil its human rights obligations to the most vulnerable members of our society.
Denying right of appeal is unethical and unjust.
Giving the minister the power to make arbitrary decisions regarding entitlements without appropriate input from those such decisions will affect is unethical and unjust.
Arbitrary plan reviews aiming to cut supports are unethical and unjust.
Persons with no understanding of disability making decisions about supports is unethical and unjust.
Algorithms making decisions about supports is unethical and unjust.
Making persons with disabilities gather reports that are subsequently ignored by the decision makers is unethical and unjust.
Spending millions on administrative red tape and lawyers, in an effort to deny persons with disabilities vital supports is unethical and unjust.
Cutting people off because you have not managed to contact them without sufficient advance notice is unethical and unjust.
Victim impact statement
I could go on but I also need to inform you of the impact disability has had on my life.
I spent thirty years as a carer for my mother and grandmother, while also having to contend with my own faulty health.
This resulted in poverty level income.
This meant that we could not complete vital renovations to our home.
Judgements were passed and consecutive interventions by local council made our lives even harder. Between the burglars who were encouraged by council actions to raid the property and council employees making decisions contrary to our explicit instructions, we lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen, destroyed, and damaged legally owned property. Loss of important documentation meant that probate became unaffordable. I lost vital communications devices worth thousands of dollars and important recordings of family and community history that are irreplaceable. Loss of furniture and renovation supplies and personal memorabilia, as well as jewellery and various meticulously curated collections felt as if war had been declared against my family leaving me with PTSD to add to my other health problems. There was never any compensation for the painful losses that are still affecting my life to this day.
My NDIS plan is multiples of my disability support pension and everyone thinks it is the answer to everything, yet I cannot use it to make my home safe for me to use.
It has been made clear to me that the funding cannot be used to rewire my home so that I have safe power in the house. It has been made clear to me that I cannot use this funding to build on accessible toileting, bathing, laundry, and kitchen facilities. That means I cannot safely toilet myself, or shower, or launder my clothing, or cook a meal, or even store perishable food that is given to me.
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The non NDIS gardener does not get enough hours to keep the weeds from proliferating, but the previous accredited gardener destroyed most of my food forest and got rid of thousands of dollars worth of plants that it took us decades to acquire and propagate - for this there is no chance of compensation.
On returning home from visiting family interstate, I was confronted by an obstacle course denying me access to a roof over my head on my own property. The repeat burglar kept coming back for seconds and thirds, even after I had caught him on the premises. However all the NDIS were willing to pay for was a skip and a removalist who was not interested in helping me to clean things up only throwing everything away. Although I was offered temporary off site accessible accomodation, I could not accept it as that would encourage the burglar to cause even more harm and it would not fix any of the underlying long term problems. As a consequence of this, I have been sleeping rough and have already landed in hospital once with bacterial pneumonia.
Last month, the outdoor walker I am completely dependent on had its back wheels stolen. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to properly secure my property and prevent ongoing theft and vandalism.
As a community broadcaster and writer, as well as volunteering for a community museum, I collected legacy audio and video equipment, as well as CDs and records. Much of this has now been damaged beyond repair and stolen.
My computer equipment is expensive to replace, since I have need of professional recording equipment. Council deprived me of my phone and newly purchased iPad. Cheap technology does not serve my requirements and it will take me decades to source and pay for replacements, if that is even feasible.
Since I am now out of taxi money and my support worker cannot always pick me up, because of my irregular schedule, if I miss my last local bus, then I occasionally spend the night in the local park rotunda because it is just too painful to walk all the way home. This exposes me to other dangers and again there is the issue of a lack of accessible toilet facilities. When my sleeping bag gets wet it may not dry for several days or longer.
Meanwhile there is unused funding in my plan that has been siloed and cannot be used to improve my circumstances. If I could really spend that NDIS money on my most pressing needs, then I would have my accessible toilet and bathroom and laundry and
- kitchen and would not have to worry about the welfare checkers damaging doors and windows thus making it easier for thieves and burglars to invade my home.