Submission on the NDIS Amendment Bill
Name:
I am a: ☐ Disabled person ☐ Family member / supporter ☐ Clinician / worker ☐ Other: ___________________
My main concern about this Bill is:
The proposed changes to participant engagement rules fail to consider the fluctuating capacities and external circumstances of disabled people which may make them unable to respond and comply with NDIS requests in a timely manner. Pausing or otherwise changing a participants’ funding will mean they cannot access the necessary supports they are entitled to under the scheme during times of decreased capacity and increased vulnerability. It makes no logical sense to restrict someone’s funding because of situations beyond their control and/or relating to the very disability that makes them require support in the first place. I am also concerned about the increasing shift to automated systems for reviewing plans and making decisions about changing funding and supports . NDIS participants are individuals with unique circumstances which should be assessed and considered by human representatives who can engage with the complexity, nuances and specifics of participants’ lives, disabilities, support needs and challenges. There is no one size fits all approach and trying to streamline with automation will neglect and harm disabled people who deserve individualised compassionate consideration of our needs and personalised, adaptive plans for ensuring they are adequately met.
This Bill may affect me / people I support because:
As an autistic person, my disability affects my communication capacity and having my funding paused or restricted because of a feature of the very disability which qualifies me for NDIS in the first place would be illogical, unfair, and harmful to my wellbeing. I also suffer from chronic health conditions which can require urgent medical care or incapacitate me for periods of time. Such situations are not within my control and it is negligent of the agency to require compliance which does not consider the reality of living with disabilities and also simply as human being who will inevitably encounter
challenges and crises. These are times when I require more support and should not be at risk of losing that if i fail to adhere to strict compliance with communications or other bureaucratic processes.
What I want the committee to understand is:
This bill will harm disabled people by increasing barriers to accessing the necessary supports to which we are entitled through being NDIS participants and are essential for us to live. It will also neglect to address our individualised needs adequately by automating decision making and making broad changes or cuts to funding for whole categories of supports instead of fine tuning plans with consideration of individual needs. Disabled people deserve to have dignity, agency, and a good quality of life. I therefore ask that the committee withdraw this bill from the senate.
My position on this Bill:
☐ I support it ☐ I do not support it ☐ I have serious concerns