NDIS Update: a summary of John Della Bosca’s Facebook Q and A

On Tuesday, 6 May the Every Australia Counts Campaign Director John Della Bosca held a Q and A on our Facebook page to answer supporters’ questions about recent developments in the campaign and what it will mean for people on the ground.

Some great questions were asked and we hope that everyone who participated got a lot out of the session.

However, we know that some supporters couldn’t attend the Q and A and some are not on Facebook, so we’ve created the below resource share with everyone.  

What is the NDIS all about?
Who is the NDIS for?
Will the NDIS be means tested?
Will people with disability over the age of 65 be covered?
What supports will be available under the NDIS?
Is there funding for capital items such as equipment or buildings?
How long after the launch sites begin would we expect to see the NDIS roll out to other areas?
How will funding be allocated and distributed?
Is the planner’s role different from the role of the local area coordinator (lac)?
Will the roll out of the NDIS affect the Disability Support Pension?
Will there be more funding for job training for people with disability?
How does an organisation become a registered provider of supports?
What are the long term arrangements for ensuring quality service providers?

Continue reading »

What a week! 3 more governments sign up to NDIS

Disability campaigners today hailed the great leap forward with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (renamed DisabilityCare Australia), as three more agreements were signed off between the federal government and the ACT, the Northern Territory and South Australia.

Every Australian Counts national campaign director John Della Bosca says the surge in NDIS agreements shows that all levels of government and both major political parties accept they must commit to the NDIS and ensure people with disability and their families are finally able to get the support they need to participate fully in the community.

“There can be no doubt now that all the leaders and members of Parliament from every political party have got the message: hundreds of thousands of NDIS campaigners – people with disability and their families and carers – will not tolerate the NDIS being put on the back burner. The NDIS is underway.”

Mr Della Bosca was adamant that campaigners would not rest until every Australian in need was guaranteed access to the NDIS.

“The Every Australian Counts campaign calls on the remaining state and territory governments and the federal government to show their good faith and sign agreements to ensure the full NDIS operates across the country, as recommended by the Productivity Commission.”

This week’s agreements build on last year’s historic start to the NDIS, when the Coalition New South Wales government became the first state to reach agreement with the ALP federal government for full NDIS implementation beyond its launch site in the Hunter Valley region.

The ACT government today agreed to full implementation of the scheme by 2016-17, covering 5000 people with disability. The Northern Territory government signed up to a first stage NDIS launch site covering 100 people with disability in the Barkly region, with a mix of remote, regional and urban communities.

The South Australian government yesterday reached agreement with the federal government to roll out the full NDIS to 33,000 people with disability, following on from its State-wide launch of the scheme targeting children up to 14 years

The NDIS will provide funds for person-centred support to people with permanent significant disability, to improve their opportunities for social and economic participation and greater independence.  Each person will be individually assessed and will develop a plan linking NDIS supports to outcomes, with a focus on individual and family choice and control over the types of supports which best meet their needs.

MEDIA RELEASE : South Australia joins New South Wales in full National Disability Insurance Scheme roll-out

South Australian disability reform campaigners are celebrating the state’s announcement today that it will join New South Wales to sign up to the full National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), renamed DisabilityCare Australia.

South Australia’s decisive agreement with the federal government to ensure full implementation of the NDIS from 2018 takes South Australia beyond its first stage NDIS launch site role focusing on children under 14 years.

The sign-up to the full scheme will benefit about 33,000 South Australians with a disability by the end of 2018-19.

Every Australian Counts campaign director, John Della Bosca said

“The state-federal NDIS funding agreement announced today by the South Australian government means there is no turning back now from the NDIS”.

“The NDIS is transformational disability reform described just yesterday by former Victorian Premier, Jeff Kennett as “the defining social change of the 21st century.”

“Every Australian Counts NDIS campaigners applaud the South Australian government for joining the New South Wales government to ensure the full strength and support of the NDIS will be made available to all eligible people with disability in their states.”

“However the campaign warns that it will not stop until every state and territory has signed up to the full NDIS, which has strong support federally from both the ALP and the LNP”.

“Federal MPs across the country are already receiving an avalanche of phone calls wanting to know when the NDIS will be rolled out in their state, and demanding full funding commitment in the May Budget” Mr Della Bosca emphasised.

The joint investment in the NDIS by the South Australian and Federal government will rise to $1.4 billion by 2018.

Community Cabinet coming up in Vic

Community Cabinet is an opportunity to bring your concerns directly to the Government.

Every Australian Counts supporters took their opportunity in WA last week to ask what the Federal Government was doing to reach an agreement with the state government to ensure the NDIS is rolled out in WA.

Victorians will have their chance next with one scheduled for Wednesday 17 April in Ringwood.

Unfortunately registration to attend the Community Cabinet has already reached capacity but you can still send your questions in here.

Details for the meeting are:

Date: Wednesday 17 April 2013
Location: Norwood Secondary College, Byron Street, Ringwood, VIC
Time: Ministerial Meetings: 4.30 – 5.30 pm (AEST), From 5:30 (AEST): Gates open for the Public Forum, Public Forum : 6.00 – 7.00 pm (AEST)

Two campaign champions recognised in the same week for their advocacy and community work in the sector

In a week that saw joy at the NDIS Bill passed in the House of Representatives and many celebrations held for International Women’s Day, two Victorian’s in particular were recognised for their dedication and hard work within their communities.

The Every Australian Counts campaign would like to acknowledge and congratulate both Tricia Malowney, inducted onto the honour roll of Victorian women by Premier Napthine and Milly Parker, acknowledged as an Inspirational Woman by Hobsons Bay City Council. Continue reading »

MEDIA RELEASE: NEW VICTORIAN PREMIER AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOCK IN THE NDIS IN VICTORIA FOR GOOD

Media Release: 7 March 2013

The Every Australian Counts campaign today welcomed the appointment of Dr Denis Napthine as the new Premier of Victoria.

The change of Premier is an opportunity for Victoria to come to an agreement with the Commonwealth Government on the full roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) right across Victoria beyond the already committed to Barwon launch site.

The Every Australian Counts campaign will shortly be calling on our more than 40,000 supporters across Victoria to email the new Premier asking him to show leadership on disability policy and sign up to the full roll out of the NDIS.

John Della Bosca, Every Australian Counts Campaign Director said,

“Mr Napthine has been a strong supporter of the need for the NDIS. He was Community Services Minister in the previous Kennett Government and in that time helped drive some of the early reforms which saw Victoria become a national leader in disability policy.”

“Unfortunately over the last few years Victoria has fallen behind. Now New South Wales is leading the way both on increasing funding to people with disability and in being the first state to sign up to the full roll out of the NDIS.”

“The change in Premier in Victoria marks an opportunity to shift from policy nit picking and never ending bureaucratic negotiations around the NDIS to real action”.

“Premier Napthine has a deep understanding of disability policy and should lead the negotiations on the full roll out of the scheme in Victoria.”

“The disability community wants to see the new Victorian Premier follow his NSW counterpart Premier O’Farrell’s  and directly negotiate with Prime Minister Gillard to sign up to the full roll out of the NDIS.”

Recently more than five hundred Victorian Every Australian Counts campaign supporters sent in submissions to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the NDIS. These submissions highlight the crisis in Victoria’s disability system.

One of the submissions read:

“Good services are almost impossible to get, and then you feel almost privileged to be funded for something, even if it is not exactly what you need or would choose. You are never free to have services that are completely tailored to what you actually need. There are year long waiting lists for services and accommodation. The sector is crisis driven and services are ad hoc. DHS [Department of Human Services, Victoria] offer caravan parks as suitable housing for people with intellectual disability. People with disability’s legal rights are not upheld and abuse of all sorts is rife.”

John Della Bosca concluded, “The Every Australian Counts campaign supporters will be emailing the new Victorian Premier over the next week. I am confident he will listen and act. More than 100,000 Victorians desperately need the NDIS. We are counting on Premier Napthine to be our champion and sign up to the full roll out of the scheme.”

For comment email:

info@everyaustraliancounts.com.au

Celebrating 20 years of the Disability Discrimination Act

A message from Graeme Innes, Disability Discrimination Commissioner

We are all campaigning for an NDIS because we live with the impact of disability, and recognise that Australia should appropriately support all of its citizens. The NDIS is a critical reform, and I’m proud to share this journey with you all.

Disability Discrimination law provided Australians with disability – and their relatives or associates – with the chance to pursue a complaint if we were treated less favourably than other people in a range of areas of public life.

Many have taken that opportunity. And their actions have not just changed their own lives- they have changed the lives of many other Australians with disability.

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of this law, the Australian Human Rights Commission is telling twenty of those stories, such as:

• Scarlet who wanted to go to school;

• Pat and Keith who are desperately concerned about who will support their sons when they are no longer able to do so; and

• Anj and Michelle whose only accommodation was in a nursing home with people three times their age.

They are stories of people just like us, prepared to take on a challenge to achieve change for ourselves and others.

Take a moment to watch how this legislation has changed people’s lives from 6.15pm EST today.

Several Federal Members of Parliament set to hold NDIS forums across Victoria, come and have your voice heard!

Monday the 4th of March starts a three day tour for Senator Jan
McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers as she joins
Federal Members of Parliament to talk with various communities about the
current state of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in Victoria.

These forums provide all members of the community the opportunity
to have their voices heard, their opinions listened to and their questions
answered.

Continue reading »

Labor would sign up WA to NDIS launch site

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan today committed to signing WA to an NDIS launch site should be become Premier after the March 9th state election.

Hear his comments on Geoff Hutchison’s ABC Mornings Progam McGowan NDIS

And read more here

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/wa-labor-would-sign-up-to-ndis-trial/story-e6frfku9-1226581940499

Geelong is in for a double delight as two NDIS forums are held on February 8, 2013! Register today!

Residents of Geelong will be treated to two different events on Friday the 8th of February, both discussing and looking at the broad issues and questions relating to the National Disability Insurance Scheme both in Victoria and around the nation.

Having a Say Conference – A discussion on the NDIS

To start the day at 9.30am the VALID Having a Say Conference is opening its doors for free to the broader community on Friday morning only, for residents to come and listen to, and ask questions of the expert panel of speakers.

Continue reading »