The government should prioritise funding towards the National Disability Insurance Scheme, says People with Disability Australia Vice President Sam Connor. Ms Connor says the government’s budget should provide “reasonable” and “necessary” support towards the NDIS and focus on supporting the lives of people living with disabilities.
The Independent Review of Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Procurement and Contracting examined the procurement processes leading to the award of contracts to Synergy 360 and associated entities. The review focused on internal agency practices and processes and the conduct of Services Australia and NDIA officials in undertaking the relevant procurements. the Independent Review produced an Independent Reviewer’s Report as well as a Taskforce Report to the Independent Reviewer.
Some participants say they are being charged double or even triple the price of services compared to those not on the scheme, for the exact same treatment or product. “I was really disappointed, I had a physio that was wonderful but when I got on the NDIS, he told me that he was no longer going to charge me the regular rate that he was charging everyone else, including my own partner who saw him,” she said.
New forecasts show the rapidly expanding NDIS is poised to blow a $5.7 billion hole in Jim Chalmers’ second budget, with almost 200 Australians joining the program each day and participant numbers outstripping projections released only months ago.
Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth MP, has announced an increase in funding for 17 Disability Representative Organisations – including Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA). The $11.2 million injected into the sector over 4 years, will effectively expand the sector’s capacity to do vital work advocating for the rights and needs of … Continued
On 1 March 2023, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, Minister for Social Services, announced that an additional $11.2 million has been allocated to the Disability Representative Organisations program over four years to provide systemic advocacy and representation for Australians with disability.
DANA and AFDO collaborated on a brief Pre-Budget Submission calling for continuity of advocacy funding (including systemic advocacy and representation) as the Disability Royal Commission comes to an end. The submission highlighted the need for an immediate injection of additional funds to address the crisis in demand. It specifically drew attention to the risks faced … Continued
The Inquiry examined reportable incidents and complaints made to the NDIS Commission in connection with the supported accommodation services (specifically group homes). The Inquiry’s purpose was to enable the NDIS Commissioner to identify trends in issues occurring in supported accommodation, what is causing those issues, models of best practice to eliminate or address these issues, and how the NDIS Commission can use its powers to support the delivery of higher standards of support in these settings.
A bleak new report has revealed the scale of issues in Australia’s supported accommodation system. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s inaugural ‘Own Motion Inquiry’ into Aspects of Supported Accommodation found that people with disability had experienced thousands of incidents in group homes run by seven of the nation’s largest providers.
The National Disability Data Asset (NDDA) aims to connect data about people with disability in Australia together, including information about health, employment and support services. The test pilot was recently completed with New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland state governments and the disability community. The pilot tested the best ways to link data about people with disability. It focused on housing, justice, early childhood, education to employment, and mental illness and psychological distress.
Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth has signalled that she will continue to work across her diverse portfolio to get outcomes for those who need it, while also pointing to “wasteful spending by the previous government”.
For nine years, people with disability not only didn’t get an invitation to the party, too often, we were on the menu. Carved up in the name of “fiscal sustainability”.
This report draws on de-identified stories that starkly illustrate the impact of the system failures on adults who are at-risk. It identifies gaps and failures in the current framework and makes seven recommendations to improve Victoria’s safeguarding laws and practices for all at-risk adults. The recommendations aim to ensure that we do not lose sight … Continued
Disabled students in public schools are missing out on $600 million a year, because of onerous and unfair funding arrangements.
Factors drawn from the data that could contribute to a person with disability’s lower level of satisfaction in life include health, wellbeing, financial stress, social isolation and lack of employment opportunities. Long wait times, cost, inaccessible buildings, discrimination by health professionals and a lack of communication between treating health professionals were all seen as barriers to people with disability accessing health care.