Mother of a problem! Are the Needs of Mothers with Intellectual Disability Being Addressed in the NDIS Era?

Abstract

The National Disability Insurance Scheme was introduced to provide a rights-based entitlement to support for Australians with disability, replacing the previous welfare-based policy framework. However, there are indications this rights-based support has not eventuated for mothers with intellectual disability, with growing reports of their reduced access to the parenting support to which they are entitled under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability. Despite the NDIS promise of an equitable disability care system that would seamlessly complement State-funded services, reports from mothers with intellectual disability and their advocates suggest that cost-shifting between the Commonwealth and State Governments has reinforced service silos and opened up service gaps for a group of women who need support from both the disability and family support systems. Moreover, a concerning absence of reliable, transparent data makes it difficult to monitor the wellbeing of families headed by mothers with intellectual disability and also suggests these families are no longer a priority for Australian Governments. In this commentary, we advocate for: i) publicly available data on how the NDIS identifies and addresses the support needs of mothers with intellectual disability; ii) the integration of State and Commonwealth funding mechanisms to enable mothers with intellectual disability to access a parenting supplement linked to their NDIS funding and; iii) the rebuilding of national capacity in evidence-based parenting education and support to mothers with intellectual disability across all Australian service systems.