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NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME WELCOMED
N
ovita Chief Executive, Glenn
Rappensberg, has welcomed the
announcement by the Australian
Government that work has started with
States and Territories on measures that
will build the foundations for a National
Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This
followed the release of the Productivity
Commission’s final 1,000 page report on
Disability Care and Support.
“The need to establish an NDIS has
been advocated for by many thousands
of people with disabilities, their families,
carers and disability service providers
around the nation for some time,” Mr
Rappensberg said.
“Novita Children’s Services made
several submissions to the Productivity
Commission during its consultation
process on this important matter,” he said.
The themes of its submissions included:
• that all children and young people with
disabilities should be eligible for
inclusion within the NDIS
• that services must be driven and
empowered by people with disabilities
• that rights based legislation be
established for children and adults
with disabilities
• that disability services (support and
care) for children must be personalised,
caring and specialised, and
• that funding must be equitable across
Making SA
‘NDIS ready’
T
he Australian Government has
announced it will work with the
South Australian Government on
measures to help get the state ready for a
National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
An NDIS will involve fundamental
changes to the way disability care and
support is provided in Australia.
The scheme will make sure Australians
with disability have access to the care
and support they need to participate in
society, no matter where they live, if they
were born with a disability or how they
acquired their disability.
The South Australian Government has
the nation, balanced by the desirability
of having local assessments, community
support and flexible responses, which
are critical for children and adolescents
with disability as they deal with changing
life needs.
“While the Australian Government’s
announcement supporting the Productivity
Commission’s vision is an important
step forward, the Government has yet
to endorse the recommendations or
commit the additional funding required
to implement the NDIS beyond an
allocation of $10 million to support a newly
established technical advisory group,” Mr
Rappensberg said.
“The Government has indicated that the
implementation of the scheme
undoubtedly will be complex and will take
significant time to enact. The Productivity
Commission sets out in its report that the
scheme would be implemented in stages
and not fully implemented until 2018-19.
“The Productivity Commission
concludes that while the cost of this
scheme is estimated to be $6.5 billion
above the current collective disability
funding of the Commonwealth and State
Governments, the social and economic
returns will outweigh its cost.”
Mr Rappensberg said the involvement
of State and Territory governments will be
critical in this reform. The South Australian
made a commitment to move towards a
model of individualised funding for people
with disability that will lead to improving
disability services and getting the State
‘NDIS ready’.
As part of the critical design and
development work needed to prepare for
the launch of an NDIS, the Australian and
South Australian governments will work
together to:
• coordinate the Commonwealth’s Better
Start and Helping Children with Autism
programs with South Australia’s early
childhood intervention services, and
• develop tools to help parents of children
with disability make informed choices
about the early intervention services
they receive.
This work will help to ensure that early
intervention programs provided by various
levels of government are coordinated and
educate families about the array of service
Government has said that “the State
Government has given its in-principal
support to the National Disability Insurance
Scheme, however it will look to participate
in further discussions on its delivery and
funding. The concept of the NDIS would
involve a fundamental change in the way
disability services are provided, managed
and funded.”
The Australian Government has also
recognised that for the not-for-profit
disability services sector, an NDIS will be
transformational change. As highlighted
by National Disability Services, “this will
require a much larger workforce
appropriately skilled; and the gearing
up of not-for-profit organisations to work
effectively in a competitive, individualised
funding environment. Meeting these
challenges will require investment in
building the capacity of the sector if the
value of not-for-profit organisations in
creating social capital is to be retained
and strengthened.”
The Productivity Commission’s final
report can be found at http://www.pc.gov.
au/projects/inquiry/disability-support/report
Novita Children’s Services’ submissions
can be found at http://www.novita.org.au/
Article/NewsDetail.aspxp=140&id=1761
Novita will continue to advocate for the
needs of the children and young people
and their families it serves.
options available to them.
This joint work will also inform the
design of the NDIS by providing a practical
example of how to give families the tools
and support they need to make choices in
the early years of a young person’s life.
Research demonstrates that intervention
in the early years can help children
with disability prepare for school and
lifelong learning.
Throughout 2012, the Australian
Government will work closely with state
and territory governments, people with
disability, their families and carers, service
providers and the disability care and
support workforce on the critical design
and development work for an NDIS.
Novita Children’s Services welcomes
the South Australian Government’s
commitment to improving the lives and
choices of South Australians with
a disability, their families and carers.
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