Safety net in danger: High price of changes to NDIS legislation
Jessica*, 23, is working with her occupational therapist, to build the living skills she needs to move out of her parents’ home. She lives with both cerebral palsy and autism, and hoped to apply for NDIS supported independent living.
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Planning for life with COVID – getting some answers on what people with disabilities need to know to stay safe
As Australia opens up despite ongoing COVID community transmission, people with disabilities need to work through some complex questions. One of these questions hits our friend Dr George Taleporos a bit too close to home – so he got some answers to share with all of us in his new series of Reasonable and Necessary.
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Every Australian Counts website blocked from Federal Parliament wifi
Several people have reported getting “access denied” when trying to visit the Every Australian Counts website on Parliament House wifi today.
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Australia should invest in the NDIS to help the economy after COVID
Emma Dawson, head of independent think tank Per Capita has had a good look at the numbers behind the NDIS – and the Federal Government’s cost-blowout scare campaign. While people with disability and families are all aware of how valuable the NDIS is when it’s working well, Emma also found that for every dollar invested in the NDIS, $2.25 is returned to the Australian economy. The NDIS is a good investment. Here’s why…
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NDIS was transformational for Australians living with disability
Of all the disappointments from the last decade of Australian political dysfunction, the National Disability Insurance Scheme is not one of them.
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Explainer part 2: What are the proposed changes to the NDIS Act?
On 28 October 2021, the Government introduced the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Participant Service Guarantee and Other Measures) Bill 2021 to the House of Representatives. If passed, this Bill will make changes to the NDIS Act. Our friend Chadwick is a Senior Solicitor from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and he has very helpfully written a follow-up NDIS Act explainer to try and make it easier for people to understand.
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Vaccinating people with disability against COVID-19
People with disability are at much bigger risk of getting very sick or dying from COVID-19. But getting a vaccine has been really hard for lots of people in our community, and vaccination rates are still too low. So we have been asking people with disability, families and the people who support them to tell us about their vaccine experiences, so we can tell the government what they can do to make it easier. Here’s what we have heard so far…
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Inquiries into NDIS, Independent Assessments, and the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission have been released by the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS
A huge report on NDIS independent assessments has just been released. Here’s our very quick summary of what the Joint Standing Committee said they heard, and what they recommend the Federal Government and NDIA should do next.
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Left behind – disabled people and the COVID vaccine
A new report from the Disability Royal Commission into the COVID vaccine rollout is just the latest in a long list of documented failures by governments to address the needs and rights of disabled people. In the race to “open up”, governments must prioritise the needs of disabled people and do a much better job of engaging with the expertise of disabled people and the sector’s organisations, says El Gibbs, an award-winning writer and disability rights advocate.
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Explainer: What are the proposed changes to the NDIS Act?
What are the good, concerning, and missed opportunities in the draft NDIS Act and Rules? Our friend Chadwick is a Senior Solicitor from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and he has very helpfully written another NDIS Act explainer to try and make it easy for people to understand.
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Support for decision making and the NDIS
The NDIA have just given everyone an extra two weeks to tell them what they think about support for decision making in the NDIS. We asked our friend Catherine McAlpine from Inclusion Australia to tell us what people with intellectual disability and their families think needs to change, and what Inclusion Australia is already working on.
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Vulnerable Australians forgotten in race to reopen
In January 2021 the Commonwealth government released its COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategy. The plan prioritised those most likely to be exposed to COVID-19, and importantly those most likely to become ill and die from the disease – a sensible approach, similar to many jurisdictions around the world.
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Open letter: Regarding the reality of booking a COVID vaccination for children with disability and medical conditions
This month, young people with disability joined the list of people who are allowed to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Being eligible is one thing – but how easy is it to actually make happen? Just as we have heard from so many people with disability and families in our community – Heike and her son Bodhi found out just how difficult it can be – the hard way. This is Heike’s open letter to the government.
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Why the Federal Government’s story about NDIS funding differences doesn’t add up
New data about NDIS costs has been released by Minister for the NDIS Linda Reynolds and the NDIA in the last week or so. Here’s our quick analysis on what the Federal Government is getting wrong in its story about well-off people with disability in the cities getting more funding than people in rural and regional areas.
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Onwards We Go!
There’s been collective sighs of relief in the aftermath of Independent Assessments being ditched. Now, let’s get on with the real business of making the scheme work and the EAC community are 110% focused on what really matters.
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You did this! NDIS compulsory assessments have officially been dumped
Last Friday, Minister for the NDIS Linda Reynolds met with each of the state and territory Disability Ministers, to ask them to support her plans for the biggest changes to the NDIS since it started – including compulsory ‘independent’ assessments.
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Explainer: What changes to look out for in the NDIS Amendment Bill
What are the top 5 big issues we can expect to see in the new NDIS legislation? We’ve all heard plenty about compulsory assessments – but what other changes to the NDIS are going to be hiding in there? Our friend Chadwick – who is a Senior Solicitor from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre – has very helpfully written an explainer to try and make it as easy as possible for people who are not experts in law to understand.
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“Stop independent assessments. Sack the CEO. Sack the Board.” Catch the blistering NDIS speech from disability advocate Kevin Stone
“The NDIA is at risk of turning people with a disability and families, who have been the Scheme’s greatest supporter and most important ally, into a desperate and angry enemy.” Kevin Stone, the highly-regarded intellectual disability advocate has delivered a blistering speech on the NDIS – calling not just for independent assessments to be scrapped – but also for the NDIA CEO and Board to be sacked. Watch the video, read the transcript – or join the fight here.
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Are the proposed Independent Assessment tools capable of informing funding decisions in NDIS participant plans?
What’s wrong with NDIS independent assessments? We asked our friend Muriel Cummins from Occupational Therapy Australia’s NDIS Taskforce to help explain why the selected assessment tools are not fit-for-purpose, and why they should not be used to determine plan funding.
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Terms of engagement for NDIS Minister Reynolds from the disability community
Disability advocates today delivered new NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds a formal ‘terms of engagement’ in a bid to reset relations between the NDIA and people with disability, their families and community.
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Your chance to speak at NDIS independent assessments hearings
The Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS is currently holding an inquiry into NDIS independent assessments. The committee wants people with disability and families to make 5-10 minute statements at their upcoming hearings. Here’s how you can get involved.
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NDIS compulsory assessments paused – but the fight for the NDIS is far from over
Many thousands of people with disability, family members and supporters have spoken out in recent months about their fear and anger about the planned changes to the NDIS. Today we have SOME good news from the federal government – but there is still a long way to go.
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Joint media statement from disability advocacy organisations on NDIS assessments
We welcome reports that NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds will pause a plan to force people with disability to submit to compulsory assessments to access support, but want to see much more detail about what that means for the future of the NDIS.
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I quit my job with the NDIS in protest against independent assessments
“We are not being listened to and I have had enough.” Carl Thompson has just quit his job as an NDIS Local Area Coordinator out of anger and frustration with the National Disability Insurance Agency.
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