The Federal government’s Commission of Audit is rumored to include calls to cap the amount of disability support funding to people, despite the Productivity Commission recommending funding be allocated based fairly and squarely on individual need.

Contradicting the Commission of Audit report that NDIS costs are out of control, Every Australian Counts understands that the average NDIS funding allocation per person has dropped below the $35,000 per year average package budget recommended by the Productivity Commission.

The number of NDIS participant has doubled in the last quarter from January to March 2014.

Fiona Anderson, Every Australian Counts Campaigner said:  “We see no evidence of cost blow out and no evidence of a crisis in NDIS operations. The only reason we can see to review the costs of the NDIS at COAG is to reduce supports for people with disability”

Campaigners will call on the Prime Minister and Premiers “not to mess with the NDIS” before their COAG meeting tomorrow.  The campaign warns that people who have waited decades for genuine disability support will not tolerate being told the NDIS has slid down the government’s funding priorities.

“Cuts to NDIS funding means plunging people with disability and their families back into second class citizenship – only allowed to have two showers or week, unable to buy the wheelchair your growing child urgently needs to avoid spinal surgery, unable to receive the individualised supports you need to help you get out the door and into work

“It’s clear that if the government did everything possible to support the NDIS roll out, it would speed up provision of supports that people with disabilities need to enter paid employment. This will in turn enable tens of thousands of family members to re-enter the workforce as they will be released from unfairly high levels of support and care.”

Every Australian Counts will today call on our supporters to email the Prime Minister and the Premiers and tell the ‘Don’t mess with the NDIS’.

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