29 September 2017
Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
By Email Only: ndis.sen@aph.gov.au
To the Secretariat
Transition Issues to the NDIS
Northern Territory PHN (NT PHN) is the Primary Health Network for the Northern Territory (NT). Our aim is to improve the health and wellbeing of the NT population, through building local partnerships and directing resources towards an integrated, high quality primary health care system. NT PHN is one of 31 Primary Health Networks established across Australia to coordinate primary health care delivery, and address local health care needs and service gaps. Our organisation is a not for profit company, with
Members being the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), the NT
Government Department of Health and the Health Providers Alliance Northern Territory. As such, we are uniquely placed – spanning the Aboriginal community controlled, public, and private health sectors – to affect change in the NT.
The NT was one of the early sites for implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) with it being piloted in Barkly from 1 July 2014. The NDIS was rolled out in East Arnhem from 1 January 2017 and Darwin Remote1 and Katherine from 1 July 2017. Darwin urban and Central Australia will be rolled out on 1 July 2018. Several key learnings came from implementation of the NDIS in the NT and some of the transition issues include:
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Service choice and control Choice and control of services is difficult where provider availability and access is limited. This is particularly relevant to rural and remote locations. There is a non-existent or very small private market in the NT and about 6,500 people (2.6 per cent of the population) across the Territory are likely to be supported by the NDIS once it has been fully rolled out. Support of the development of the small provider market needs to continue to combat this issue.
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‘Thin’ market in a very large geographic area Transport and accommodation expenses associated with service delivery in remote areas remain exceptionally high, and continue to need to be factored in as a key cost. Remote workforce issues and the recruitment and retention of relevant staff and allied health professionals is an ongoing challenge.
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Linguistic and cultural differences
1 Roper Gulf, Tiwi Islands, Victoria-Daly, West Arnhem, West Daly
ntphn.org.au 23 Albatross Street Winnellie NT 0820 National Remote Health Precinct
GPO Box 2562 Darwin NT 0801 5 Skinner Street Alice Springs NT 0870
Ensuring culturally appropriate care and services is a key consideration. A genuine understanding of the cultural parameters of a region is needed for effective NDIS transitions within that region. Consumers, communities and providers require appropriate levels of understanding about NDIS services. Linguistic differences often means that an interpreter may be required to gather relevant information as part of the assessment and to ensure that the client is empowered and informed through the process.
- Knowledge management and retention of staff Due to high staff turnover and client transience, knowledge management is essential. To ensure that GPs, providers and other allied health professionals are supported, education and training along with practice support are a key priority. This may encourage staff retention and will enable them to understand eligibility requirements to ensure appropriate plans are in place to address client needs.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this submission. Should any further information be required, please contact me on 8982 1072 or by email on nicki.herriot@ntphn.org.au
Yours faithfully
Nicki Herriot
Chief Executive Officer
ntphn.org.au 23 Albatross Street Winnellie NT 0820 National Remote Health Precinct GPO Box 2562 Darwin NT 0801 5 Skinner Street Alice Springs NT 0870