While it has not been formally announced, we expect that the NDIS Review recommendations will be released after this meeting.

On Thursday Minister Bill Shorten will be giving an important speech on the NDIS Review at the National Press Club. You can watch it live on the ABC at 12:30 PM.

The Minister has agreed to meet with me for an interview to answer our questions after the NDIS Review report is released.  So please email us with your questions.

Our message to decision makers is clear

We will not judge the report until we have seen it in full. But what we must do is remind our decision-makers about what our community desperately needs to see come out of this review. Our message to the National Cabinet is clear and we ask all of our community to email your State and Territory Disability Reform Ministers with this message:

The NDIS is a vital lifeline for thousands of people with disabilities and our families across the country. We fought for an NDIS that promised people with disability would get the support that we need to be in control of our own lives and be included in our Australian community.

The NDIS has many economic and social benefits. Every dollar spent on the NDIS returns more than double that to the economy.

The NDIS Review is an important opportunity to make the NDIS simpler, fairer and more effective at meeting the needs of our community.

We need faster and fairer decision-making and planners who understand us and listen to us.

We need an NDIS where we are in control of our lives, where we make the decisions that affect us. Where we decide where we live and who we live with. Where we decide how we are supported and who provides that support. 

For the NDIS to work, people with disability need to be at the centre of decision making. All changes to the NDIS that come out of the Review need to be codesigned. Nothing about us without us!

For the NDIS to be sustainable, we need an inclusive Australian society. Without that, the NDIS becomes the only lifeboat in the ocean and will be in danger of sinking under the pressure.

We need all states and territories and all levels of governments to do what it takes to make mainstream services accessible and inclusive of people with disability.

We don’t want buck passing or people falling through the cracks.

We want cooperation and commitment to make the NDIS work, not just for us, but for future generations.

At the upcoming National Cabinet meeting please hold true to the promise of the NDIS and commit to making Australia an inclusive society, where Australians with disabilities have the support that we need to live the lives that we choose.

We want to hear from you!

Don’t forget that we want to hear from you about what you think of the NDIS Review when the recommendations come down. So remember to email us with any concerns or questions you want us to raise with the Minister. There will also be other ways to have your say, including a community forum, stay tuned for all the details.

In the meantime, we will be working hard to bring you all at the latest news on the NDIS Review as soon as it happens.  We will be bringing you an in-depth analysis of all the recommendations in a special one-hour podcast with our partners the Summer Foundation, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, People with Disability Australia and the Grattan Institute. It will be a ripper!

Make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter and tell your friends to join up as well to get the latest news. You can subscribe at the bottom of this page.

Thank you for your time and your commitment to making the NDIS work.

Kind regards,

Dr George Taleporos
Independent Chair, Every Australian Counts

PS: in case you missed our interview with Bruce and Lisa about the NDIS Review, you can check it out below: