The National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013: experiences of family members in a regional community in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

The National Disability Insurance Scheme in Australia is projected to deliver individualised support to 475,000 people with a disability at the cost of $AUS22bil per annum. The actual experiences of Australian families supporting family members to engage with newly introduced individualised funding arrangements are critical considerations in any evaluation of the Scheme’s impact. This study aimed to understand and describe the experiences of family members beginning engagement with the National Disability Insurance Scheme in a regional area, and whether implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme reflected key principles and objects of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 of the Commonwealth of Australia (NDIS Act 2013) in the lived experience of families. Thematic qualitative findings were drawn from semi-structured interviews with 72 family members new to the Scheme and living in regional New South Wales, Australia. Participants’ experiences of supports were linked to fundamental principles and objects of the NDIS Act 2013 and provide new insights into patterns of change in independence, participation, and social inclusion, and how these patterns of change might be operationalised in the NDIS Act 2013.