Independent Assessments Submission 13 - Response to Submission 13 by Professor Valsamma Eapen
Professor Valsamma Eapen Chair, Infant Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University of New South Wales Randwick NSW Australia, 2052
06/05/2021
Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Phone: +61 2 6277 3083 Fax: +61 2 6277 5829 ndis.sen@aph.gov.au
Dear Committee Secretary,
I am writing to the Committee members to contextualise a quote of mine that was enclosed within the joint submission to the Committee’s inquiry into the Independent Assessment Framework provided by the Department of Social Services and the National Disability Insurance Agency (Submission 13, page 9).
I provided the following quote to the National Disability Insurance Agency in September 2020: “The new functional capacity assessment framework by NDIS aligned to the International Classification of Functioning will undoubtedly enhance the development of effective programs matching each individual’s functional level and need, thereby optimising outcomes”
This quote was provided in the context of the document ‘Functional Capacity Assessment Framework’ in August 2020.
Since providing this quote in September 2020, considerable further detail has been released on this Framework (subsequently retitled, ‘Independent Assessment Framework’), and my quote does not relate to those details I have written to the Chief Executive Officer of the National Disability Insurance Agency, Mr Martin Hoffman, to respectfully request that any future use of this quote is done with this context clearly provided.
Yours sincerely
Professor Valsamma Eapen MBBS, PhD, FRCPsych, FRANZCP
Chair, Infant Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of New South Wales 30 Botany Street, Randwick, University of New South Wales ICAMHS, L1 MHC, Liverpool Hospital, Elizabeth Street, NSW 2170 Sydney, Australia