Most importantly for people with disability and their families, there will be no more NDIS plans created over the phone – all plans will be developed face to face.

And the NDIA will create a single point of contact to try and make it easier to get information and answers to questions.

The changes will be made to what is called the “participant pathway” – which, in plain language, is the journey NDIS participants go on as they contact the scheme, are found eligible for NDIS support and start their planning.

The new pathway will be piloted in some areas before being introduced around the rest of the country.

New NDIA CEO Rob De Luca said the Agency had decided to make the changes in response to feedback from participants and their families as well as organisations in the disability sector.

Unfortunately, the announcement does not contain any detail about when or where the pilot will start or when the changes might be introduced more widely.

You can read a copy of the announcement in full here

EAC supporters have been very vocal about the challenges they have experienced navigating their way through the NDIS . It’s encouraging to see that the NDIA have responded. It means your stories have made a difference.

But we do need to know the nuts and bolts – exactly what is going to happen and when.

As soon as we get more information about what, when and where, we will post the news here. Make sure you’re checking back in regularly, and share this news with others you know will be affected by it.

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For further information:

Our friends at Disability Loop are really good at translating information from the NDIS into plain language that everyone can understand. You can read their translation of the NDIA statement here https://www.disabilityloop.org.au

There is more information about the NDIS participant pathway on the NDIS website – https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/planning-process.html