Summit at a glance:
- The future of NDIS involves providing greater assistance to people not on it
- Benefits, not just cost, of NDIS need to be counted
- Waste, fraud and soaring legal fights need to be tackled
- Greater transparency is needed across the board
- More disabled voices needed “at top” of NDIA and central to reforms
In his first address to the disability sector as NDIS minister, Bill Shorten said more needs to be done to support all people with disability, not just those on the NDIS.
Speaking at an online national summit called Where To From Here?, Mr Shorten said the NDIS should not be the "only life boat in the ocean for people with disability to swim to".
He said the scheme was designed to support people with “severe or profound” disability, but there remains a lack of meaningful assistance for disabled people who do not fit this category. Mr Shorten said this so-called Tier Two group of disabled people needs more help and called on all tiers of government to play their part.
The NDIS minister’s words were echoed by the Scheme’s architect, Bruce Bonyhady, who kicked off the summit by answering questions from ABC journalist, Leigh Sales.
Mr Bonyhady said the NDIS “can no longer be an oasis in the desert" and that there is a "need to build up support for those not eligible for the scheme."
"Designing Tier Two [supports] and implementing Tier Two [supports] is a major piece of work which has not been done and now needs to be embarked on with urgency," Mr Bonyhady said.
He also said public and political discussion on the NDIS has been "framed wrong" in recent years by focussing on “short-term costs" instead of looking at the lifetime benefits it gives people with disability.
The summit heard those benefits extend to all Australians as NDIS funds provide a major boost to the economy.
Think tank, Per Capita, outlined how its research shows that for every one dollar spent by the NDIS, $2.25 is generated for the wider economy. The same reports says hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created by the scheme.
Wednesday’s summit comes amid renewed optimism by the disability community that issues with the NDIS - such as reports of slashed plans and inconsistency - will be addressed by the incoming government.
But panellist, and long-time autism advocate, Nicole Rogerson says she hopes it won’t be a case of “having an OK boyfriend after having a terrible husband”.
The Autism Awareness Australia founder said it shouldn’t be left up to “tired”, “exhausted” and “overwhelmed” people to make the NDIS work better.
With legal cases against the NDIA soaring - up 244% in the past year according to March figures - Mr Shorten said reducing this “pain point” for participants was a priority. He said that along with improving “appeal pathways” and the planning process, the new government would also "clamp down on fraud and waste".
There were also calls at the summit for better access to data gathered by the NDIA, along with greater transparency as to how it is used.
Sam Connor, president of People with Disabilities Australia, said ““people with disability are among the most scrutinised and surveyed people you can imagine”.
She was critical of the “goals” disabled people have to give in order to get NDIS supports. Participants are asked to explain how they fared in reaching these goals as part of regular reviews of their funding. Connor said people accessing other public services, such as the health system, “don’t have their lives scrutinised in this way”.
Ms Connor said her hopes for the NDIS under the new government would be that of “commitment to action and reform”.
Mr Shorten said people with lived experience of disability need to be central to any reforms in the scheme. He said this includes placing people with disability “at the top” of the NDIA. His comments come as the Agency searches for a new CEO, following the resignation last week of current boss, Martin Hoffman.
Representing the NDIA at the summit, Deputy CEO Sarah Johnson says it was important for the Agency to find the balance between two things, “ensuring NDIS participants get reasonable and necessary support” and that the “Australian people think it’s value for money.”
The DSC summit continues on Thursday. Hireup will be tweeting from the event. You can stay up to date by following @HireupAustralia
