Toowoomba Clubhouse Association Inc.
ABN: 56 556 874 963
112 Russell Street, Toowoomba
P.O. Box 3027, Toowoomba, Qld 4350
Senate Inquiry on NDIS and Psycho-Social Disability
SUBMISSION
The Toowoomba Clubhouse
Toowoomba Clubhouse is dedicated to supporting adults with a lived experience of mental illness, in a restorative environment. As a community, we aim to provide opportunities for our members to develop the skills and confidence needed to transform their lives through education and training, employment, social activity and inclusion. The Toowoomba Clubhouse has been operating for 20 years and currently works with approximately 600 members who need support to help them recover from mental illness. The organisation is now a registered NDIS provider and is currently assisting its members gain access to the system, prepare for and go through the interview process with the hope of successfully securing a package of support through NDIS. In our experience we have a number of concerns relating to the NDIS scheme and how it may or may not support people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition.
- The eligibility criteria for the NDIS for people with a psychosocial disability: We have significant concerns relating to the uncertainty about the criteria being used by the NDIS in determining eligibility for a package for people with ‘psychosocial disability’ and believe this will result in many of our members being deemed ineligible for NDIS support. The intermittent nature of mental illness in some ways appears to make the NDIS an unnatural fit for the provision of services to people suffering this condition. People who are enjoying a period of wellness and feel they are on the road to recovery are less likely to want to plan for supports that will be implemented over the remainder of their lives and likewise, it is extremely difficult to engage a person in going through the process of applying for a package when they are very unwell. As our mental health system traditionally highly invested in the ‘crisis’ end of service provision, where people seeking support from hospital are frequently turned away. What this means for people who have suffered from mental ill health for the majority of their lives is that they have to rely on their own resources and develop personal strategies for dealing with their distress. To an outward observer the person often appears to be living a fairly ordinary life however when you scratch the surface you find that they have simply normalised the disabling impact of their condition. To envision the possibilities of an improved quality of life through the NDIS can involve an enormous shift in mindset and a perception of revisiting increased stigma on mental illness which is resulting in some participants opting out of the NDIS process. It is often assumed that people who experience conditions for which there are available treatments and interventions do not need the supports available under the NDIS when in reality diagnosis is only part of the picture. Many people with mental illness diagnosis experience multiple barriers to engaging with supports. For those who choose to avoid the dehumanising effects of stigma and discrimination that can
result from identifying as a person with mental illness, the progress of applying for the NDIS can be prohibitive. Generally if appears that the NDIS funding model may not be flexible enough to take into account recurrent crisis situations and changing needs for individuals suffering from mental illness.
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Application process: Toowoomba Clubhouse staff have supported many members to apply to the scheme. We have found that the planning process is lengthy and difficult for many participants, although the planners appear to be very sensitive and understanding of the need for breaks. Face to face interviews will no doubt be better for many participants but at this stage there is a general concern that if a participant chooses this method over the phone method that their assessment and corresponding support package will take a longer time. Communicating the impacts of mental illness is difficult particularly over the phone.
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Future services for people who make the choice to try and access the scheme but are deemed ineligible for the NDIS: With most of the current funding supporting our members being transitioned into NDIS, we ask the question what supports will exist then for those deemed ineligible for NDIS support in the future. There is currently a lot of uncertainty around what funding support will be available for people suffering from mental illness after the full introduction of the NDIS scheme. For those deemed ineligible for NDIS support, there is currently no clarity around what support will be available for them in the future. Currently both federal and state funded programs are providing some support to these people and whether these programs will continue in any form into the future is still unknown. This of course is providing heightened levels of anxiety for members and is also difficult for provider organisations who are trying to plan future sustainability. Preferred future models such as a combined individual package and bulk purchase of services are being discussed as a potential option, but no decisions have been made and information changes constantly. This is causing considerable concern for individuals with mental illness as their future supports become more and more insecure. Differences between the various state bi-lateral agreements are also causing more confusion as support in no two states are exactly the same.
Summary
The Toowoomba Clubhouse works on a daily basis with people suffering from mental illness who are currently supported by federal and state programs most of which are being transitioned into the NDIS scheme. We are concerned that many of the people we work with do not wish to identify as being disabled and much less put themselves in a situation where they are required to gather evidence confirming that their mental illness constitutes a life long, untreatable disability. We believe this will indeed result in many individuals suffering from mental illness at best being very reluctant to apply to the scheme or simply choosing not to. Additionally we believe and are starting to see evidence of many individuals who whilst choosing to apply for access to the NDIS scheme then being deemed ineligible for support or being issued with less than adequate support.
The Toowoomba Clubhouse is encouraged by the action initiated by the senate inquiry into NDIS and mental health and is hopeful that this will result in further informed discussion on the matter leading to the clarification and implementation of a more streamlined approach to providing support to individuals suffering from mental illness. Is NDIS the best support scheme for recovery – orientated support of individuals with mental illness? A conclusion is required and consequently determination of the best way forward and this is required as a matter of urgency to alleviate growing concern amongst individuals as well as provider organisations of what form future support will take.