Choice, Control and Individual Funding: The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme

Abstract

This chapter reviews Australia’s new National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the extent to which it is giving people with disability choice and control over their disability support funding. This chapter describes the new scheme and examines findings from three key documents. These are the Council of Australian Governments (COAG, Disability reform council quarterly report March. Canberra, Council of Australian Governments (COAG), Website: https://www.ndis.gov.au/medias/documents/report-q3-y5-pdf/Report-to-the-COAG-Disability-Reform-Council-for-Q3-of-Y5.pdf, 2018) report which presents the Government’s statistics and reports high satisfaction levels; the Australian Government’s Joint Standing Committee (Transitional Arrangements for the NDIS. Canberra, Australian Government Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Website: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Disability_Insurance_Scheme/Transition, 2018) report detailing criticisms it received in public hearings; and the Mavromaras, Moskos, Mahuteau, Isherwood (Evaluation of the NDIS, final report. National Institute of Labour Studies, Flinders University, Adelaide, Website: https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers/programs-services/for-people-with-disability/national-disability-insurance-scheme/ndis-evaluation-consolidated-report, 2018) which presents an independent evaluation commissioned by the Government. The data in these three reports focus on NDIS individual support. The second arm of the NDIS, community development, is too new to evaluate. The picture that emerges from these three different narratives is one of immense cultural and procedural change across a vast nation. Some NDIS participants are receiving increased disability support funding, the necessary support to choose how to use it, and they are achieving positive outcomes and increased community involvement. Others are missing out. The NDIS is facing many logistical challenges to enable it to reach out to the most disadvantaged groups, establish inclusive planning and review protocols, provide necessary administrative support and ensure there is a suitable workforce. The evidence indicates that the NDIS is responding constructively to feedback and criticisms about design and procedural shortcomings. The biggest risk that emerges from the data is government budget cutting that could undermine NDIS efforts to meet its commitments and obligations.