NDIS submission Proposed changes to Ndis terrify me . I want to continue to build capacity and prosper . I want my family to prosper . I want my grandkids to prosper. Reducing cutting funding is cruel and unnecessary. My 1st support from Ndis . My first Support Worker supported myself very well , I chose a small provider . My Support Worker was a second year occupational therapy student. She knew exactly how to support me because she was semi qualified in her chosen field. She was a lucky fluke for me and she set the standard for what I knew I needed in a Support Worker. She supported me three days a week . Eventually she graduated took a full-time appointment at the local hospital. My experience with this semi qualified occupational therapist student was great. I improved

in every area within the time she worked with me  .  I continued to

build capacity and after a year began thinking about if and when I could return to the workforce part-time. I continued to improve until she left . I was unable to find a suitable QUALIFIED IN ANY WAY support worker . I was able to overcome this setback eventually, but in the case of autistic people under constant extreme stress we regress I was to learn 1st hand about this. I deteriorated with 6 months , lost all my capacity became very depressed and angry . I was cut off from all the confidence building motivational support that I’d experienced.

My second Support Worker was a continual fluctuating parade of unsuitable fraudsters It took me 18 months to find a suitable Support Worker. In the time that I didn’t have a suitable Support Worker & at times no Support Worker at all. I continued to deteriorate my life folded up. I became depressed, despondent angry and suicidal being autistic All these conditions are exacerbated more so than in neurotypical people. These experiences showed myself & my allied health prof’s I needed

support to do any  daily living tasks like shopping  Drs App hair

app paper wk follow up socialisation Activities maintain friendships all that I had done to build capacity in myself with my 1st support Wkr It’s called shadowing - my Support Worker works beside me & we do the tasks together . When I’ve had enough sleep I function much better. I have had ongoing sleep issues when I’ve no support wkrs who understand AUTISM . I find stopping difficult , to Let go of the Days activities and go to bed. It’s not just difficult at the moment it’s insurmountable. This only happens when I’m severely stressed and since the government announced 160,000 people to lose Ndis Support I’m severely stressed and it’s a constant pain in my thoughts that I deliberately try not to focus on . If my support is denied I know I won’t survive . My support workers are helping me through this & I’m seeing improvements especially if I don’t pay any attention to right wing news media & the current governments media. I’m encouraged by the Greens politicians who support the Ndis. I don’t want to die but Im a realist if I’ve got no support the suicide idolisation (part of autism) will return . Since having NDIS support I’ve had one intense period of depression and suicidal thoughts. It occurred when NDIS cut my funding by 2/3 s . Since

being granted my full funding again I’ve not experienced such intense sad thoughts . I’ve got a great team who do understand my Autism and rheumatoid arthritis . I have 3 diff support wkrs 2 are sole traders One is still with a Labor hire company but she’ll eventually leave that very abusive system and become a sole trader. I don’t employee any registered providers large or small. I only employ Sole traders or people planning to become one due to the fraud that I’ve experienced from providers and from service organisations . The proposed changes to the Ndis scare me a great deal . I’ve got 6 grandkids , 3 are autistic and have ndis funding . Two of the boys needed help with language processing . Due to that help one is 19 and training to become a professional athlete, it’s been his dream since he was 8 yrs old . He’s also working for ndis coaching other

young boys with disabilities.  He’s still receiving some  Ndis’s

support . The other grandson was completely non verbal from birth , with Ndis’s intervention he’s verbal attends school and is pursuing a career in car mechanics . The help from ndis has enabled my grandsons to flourish . Taking away any of our access to funding will cause us all to go backwards . We will not flourish or ever be able to work without Ndis’s support . Sadly the changes haven’t been explained by Labor . It’s like a huge secret that we are supposed to find out by nasty letters over the next 2 yrs . With no social and community supports I’ll be unable to function in society . I’ll be unable to live any kind of meaningful life with any purpose . Please don’t follow thru with the planned cuts . Reduce the Privitised NDIS MAKE IT gov run to reduce the costs . My Autism is permanent it cannot be cured . Support from Ndis helps me endure the neuro typical world . My rheumatoid arthritis is permanent it cannot be cured . It can be helped with some heat therapies and massage and drugs . The drugs have severe side effects. They can only be taken for short periods 2-3 yrs then a break . If Ndis decided my disability wasn’t permanent I’d like to know how it was cured . I want my own medical team that I trust to be supporting me . Not an NDIS quasi allied health person . I’m certain you’d not trust that kind of unqualified help for you or your family so why should any other AUSTRALIAN .

1 FRAUD perpetrated by NDIS & service org. I waited three years for someone to organise a plumber to change 8 tap heads in my house 3 different occupational therapists approved it Ndis gave me the funds but no one organised it. I didn’t know that it was down to me. I didn’t understand the roles of the people involved in my funding in the Ndis and that’s down to the people that run the Ndis. Privatising any care org is ALWAYS DETRIMENTAL TO THOSE BEING CARED FOR . Plumbers employed to change taps because my hands can no longer operate an ordinary tap charged $4000 to change the heads on eight taps in my house and yard. I had no idea they charged that amount if

I’d known I would never have employed them . I’ve been around the building trade my whole life I know what services are worth. This service was worth $500 at the most. My plan manager was aware of the quote & employed them because she has no knowledge of the building industry & why would she? She’s not been trained to be a building estimator. If I had Acess to my plan etc I’d see that mistake and stop it .. the nbn doesn’t afford me reliable service so emails and govt portals are not accessible to me most of the time . A mobile phone /ipad app would work far better for many NDIS clients. I’ve learnt that the Ndis’s site is pathetic but most of the time I can’t Acess it due to poor nbn .

#2 Fraud small provider The provider was one that was recommended to me as my daughter knew the person who founded it. Sadly that person had left the company and gone on to do something else. The person running the company told me on a zoom meeting that the Support Worker she wanted to supply me with was an experienced Support Worker & the Support Worker said same we chatted for 15 minutes in the zoom meeting. I said yes to her to start a shift the following Monday for three hours to see how we worked out . I would say her performance was fair and I was prepared to give her another shift to see how she went as sometimes it takes me a little while to feel comfortable around people . During her 1st shift her phone was pinging often . I told her if she’s got kids and they need to contact her she should answer it . She did this & then continued to do it throughout both her shifts . She was actually looking up emails etc at one point she said oh great I’ve passed another module In my training . That’s when I asked more questions of her past experiences. She was an experienced ndis cleaner. There is a massive difference between a cleaner and an experienced Support Worker. The Financial difference is $20 an hour for the company that employs them. When she left after her second shift I said goodbye . I rang my support coordinator told her of my experience She rang the company and terminated their services. Next day the company Manager emailed my support coordinator and told her a totally different story that painted me as a liar .

#3 LOSING CAPACITY

Since I’ve had Ndis Support, I’ve lost capacity twice both times I was thinking about going back to the workforce even if it was just one day a week and each time the Ndis destroyed my ability to do that by not having qualified support workers that had more than a pulse and by cutting my funding that I had to fight for eight months to get back and I still don’t have Complete funding.

#4 Autism Assistance Dog . I have purchased my own Dog to be my assistance Dog from a reputable source. We are in training with a trainer so that he can be Support for me. He already is performing that role. He’s not fully through his training yet but he will be an excellent support Animal. He’s made a massive difference to my life. I’ve asked Ndis for help with his expenses and so far I met with rules and regulations and I understand that he’s not qualified yet. I don’t expect Support for

him yet but what I wanted to know was what kind of support can I expect when he is fully qualified? That is a question. I’m still trying to find an answer to.

#5 $20,000 + $10,000 fees to register as a provider . Why is it necessary for providers to pay the government up to $20,000 to be a registered provider and then agree to be audited once a year costing up to $10,000 per year . I’ve never heard of any other providers of government services like KPMG PricewaterhouseCoopers Serco having to provide registration fees and I know just those three companies have committed fraud. Seems the whole process is fraudulent.

#6 why are all the services associated with the Ndis privatised? Why aren’t we under a similar arrangement to Medicare? Why are we privatised? We all know that privatise Services prioritise profit over Care that is evidence in every single privatised service within the Australian government and all states and territories the services were government run to begin with because they were never designed to make a profit so no company wanted them now with privatise services. There is Always a drop-in service and a rising price and that’s where the money for the Ndis is disappearing.