A Changing Landscape: The New NDIS
It has been too long – but hello again!
Since the NDIS was legislated in 2013, we have been on a tumultuous journey.
2014: Four trial sites were selected to assess the viability of a National Scheme for disability supports. Prior to the NDIS, 220,000 Australians were receiving funded supports from State, Territory or Federal programs.
2015: Four new trial sites are added, now covering all states and territories. 17,000 participants are now on the national scheme. It’s going to go ahead- and roll out nationally.
2016-2017: The scheme continues to expand to different regions across the countries, including in regional and remote areas where there were previously no services. By August 2017, there are over 100,000 people on the NDIS, a 240% increase in one year. In November 2017, Federal Parliament establishes the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.
2018: More people than ever before are now receiving disability support funding. Regulatory changes, and changes from local supports to national supports create administrative headaches for everyone.
2020: The NDIS is now fully established, and available to all Australians. Official charters are created, and the scheme reaches 400,000 participants. Nearly twice as many people with disability are receiving support than ever before, within 4 years. Federally, concerns over the cost of the scheme begin to emerge- more and more Australians are trying to access the scheme, and demand is outpacing projections, staff and processes.
2021: The Government passes a bill to protect participants from abuse and neglect. The MyNDIS App launches- and it is a disaster. Participants are frustrated by the lengthy, subjective process to gaining access to the scheme. Those who are good at self-advocating are better off than ever before. Many others lose out.
2022: 500,000 participants are now on the scheme. The unsustainability of the scheme is becoming a news story. Providers and participants are both frustrated by the narrative around the NDIS. An official review is announced to begin in 2023.
2023: An extensive review is conducted by various stakeholders with consultation of the disability community. A final report is commissioned with 26 recommendations and 139 actions. The Government very quickly responds with the NDIS Amendment Bill that fails to address most of the recommendations in the report. In fact, it is so quick that it would have had to be drafted prior to the report being completed.
2024: The narrative around the NDIS has become very negative- families feel cheated, and that they have been overpromised and underdelivered. Providers are expected to survive on a 2% profit margin. In the media, NDIS providers are being labelled as crooks, and a punitive task force is introduced. Despite all this, there are nearly 700,000 people receiving support. Shonky providers are being exposed and driven from the scheme, and a spotlight is shone on providers who really care.
Sweeping changes are proposed over the next 5 years to reduce the spend and crack down on fraud, abuse and neglect. Many participants are stuck without supports as in an effort to cut spend and get a win before an election, many people are not having their plans reviewed for up to 6 months past their end date.
Today: The scheme now sits in murky waters- participants are frustrated, and rightly so, and fear that they will lose their supports. Many providers have left the scheme as it is simply not sustainable. Nearly half of all providers reported that they made a loss on the scheme. Regardless of our apprehension, something has to change. A sustainable NDIS is one that provides for as many Australians as possible, for as long as possible.
Some of the key changes that are coming include:
Local Area Coordinators (LACs) and Support Coordinators will be scrapped, and replaced with a new role: Navigators. There is no timeline for this change yet.
A very helpful report has been released with clear and concise lists of the supports that can/cannot be funded under the NDIS. Please read it!
In future, the list of diagnoses that guarantee scheme entrance will be scrapped-this is in part to reduce the burden of waiting to receive a diagnosis (sometimes years), as well as recognising that not all people with a diagnosis are disabled.
A plan to cooperate with state and territory governments to provide “foundational supports” – specific supports that sit outside the NDIS to help people with disability and their family and carers where mainstream supports fall short.
A commitment that the scheme is here to stay – but it has to change.
As a clinician, I too feel the stress of the uncertain future of the NDIS, but I understand it must change, so that it can continue. The disability community have shown strength and resilience time and time again, and we will not go back to the times of old, where people were “less than”.
Fraudulent providers will be penalised and leave the scheme- you will still have choice and control, but only from providers who can rise to a higher standard. NDIS plans, and the number of people with one will shrink, but other supports will fill the gap. Quality providers will go on, and have more of an impact as less funding is wasted due to fraud or mismanagement.
I firmly believe that while change is scary, over the long term it will be good- we are very lucky to have the NDIS, and we must do what we can to keep it.
So next time you feel angry, frustrated or dejected- I understand. It can at times be a never ending battle of self-advocation, paperwork and accounting to receive the supports that you need. But there are providers, participants and legislators who do care, and what to see this continue. We will walk beside you the whole way.
The blog is back! And not only that, but exciting things are coming……
Stay tuned, because in early 2025, my first e-Book will be released!
Until next time,
Josh
