The NDIS is a new way of doing disability support in the world – there is nothing else quite like it. And because it’s a world first, it didn’t come with a nice and well-tested set of instructions.

And as well all know – when the NDIS works well it completely changes people’s lives. We have seen and heard and experienced this for ourselves, from people all over Australia, for almost 10 years now.

But when it doesn’t work well it can have completely devastating consequences.

All of us want the NDIS to work well. Not just for ourselves or the people closest to us – but for everyone who needs it now and into the future.

And because it’s an original idea, and because unexpected things happen, and new decision-makers come and go, it’s no surprise the NDIS has been looked at and followed by a big range of different government inquiries over the years.

These inquiries are often make up by submissions that people on the ground have poured their blood, sweat and tears into – to try to make sure we get the best NDIS possible.

Your voices shape the recommendations that come out. And when they haven’t included you, the recommendations aren’t always that great. Because you know the reality of the NDIS on the ground.

Over the last couple of years, the NDIA and NDIS Ministers have continually talked about a small number of recommendations made in the past. Recommendations that appear to support changes they want to make – but many of you don’t trust.

So why don’t they give all of the other recommendations ever made that much attention?

Maybe they needed someone to put them all together in the same place? It is hard to keep track of them all.

So, to all of the people in charge of the NDIS – here’s where you can find a bunch of it, thanks to our friends from PIAC and Gilbert + Tobin.

More than 300 separate recommendations, with details about when and why they were made – and some notes on what the Federal Government did or did not do about them (or said they did or didn’t do).

And to make it a bit easier to find what you want, the spreadsheet design includes filters so you can change what’s in focus.

The inquiries they looked at include:

• The Productivity Commission’s 2017 Study into Costs
• The 2018 Commonwealth Ombudsman’s report into administrative reviews
• The 2019 Review of the NDIS Act (‘Tune Review’)
• The 2020 Joint Standing Committee Inquiry into Planning
• The 2020 Joint Standing Committee Inquiry into General Issues
• The 2020 Joint Standing Committee Inquiry into Supported Independent Living
• The Australian National Audit Office’s 2020 review of decision-making controls
• The 2021 Joint Standing Committee Inquiry into Independent Assessments

Check out the NDIS advocacy tool for yourself

🎯 NDIS Recommendations Tracker (online spreadsheet)

👉 More about the tracker from the PIAC website

👉 Guide to filtering the tracker (PDF)

Do you like what you see? Have other ideas? Let PIAC know – or leave a comment below.