Your Say - National Disability Insurance Scheme

DisabilityCare Australia will help improve access to disability support by giving people with disability, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, more choice and control over their care and support.

In March 2013, the Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin, heard from people with disability from CALD backgrounds at a roundtable meeting on DisabilityCare Australia, conducted by the National Ethnic Disability Alliance and the National Disability and Carer Alliance. Following on from this successful roundtable, we are seeking further input from people with disability from CALD backgrounds on how DisabilityCare Australia can best support them and their communities.

The Australian Government has released draft rules that will guide how the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) works for people with disability, their families, carers and service providers.

The rules support the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012, which is currently before the Australian Parliament. The Bill establishes the NDIS, including eligibility criteria and what constitutes reasonable and necessary support. It also establishes the NDIS Agency to deliver the Scheme.

The rules provide a further level of detail on how the NDIS will work, including how people with disability will be able to access the scheme, and how the Agency will determine what supports are reasonable to meet a person’s needs.

The Australian Government has released a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Consultation Paper on the Rules that explain in detail how the NDIS will operate.

Later this week the draft legislation for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) (the Bill) is to be introduced into Federal Parliament. There will be several opportunities to provide formal feedback on the Bill in the coming weeks, before it is voted on in time for the NDIS launch from mid next year. 

The Government will also release a discussion paper in the coming weeks to seek further input from the community on the shape of the NDIS rules. These are the legislative instruments that will set out the operational aspects of the scheme.

An NDIS will recognise that disability is for a lifetime and will take a lifelong approach to providing care and support. This means that planning will look beyond the immediate need, and across the course of a person’s life.

It will provide the appropriate reasonable and necessary supports that will allow people with disability to have greater independence and help them reach their full potential.

For our third forum we would like to find out what you think should be considered when you’re developing your plan with the NDIS.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Advisory Group was established by the Australian Government to provide specialist advice on the development of the foundations for reform as well as the design of the proposed arrangements for launch of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

 The Advisory Group, chaired by Dr Jeff Harmer, brings a wealth of knowledge about the experience of people with disability and carers, the challenges for the service sector and government administration.

NDIS Your Story is an opportunity for you to share your own story and tell us how you can expect an NDIS to meet your most important needs.

Starting in July 2013, the first stage of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will become real for people with significant disabilities in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, the Hunter region of NSW and the Barwon region of Victoria.

Under an NDIS people will have more control over the services and supports they receive, and the flexibility to explore and choose from a wider range of options and providers.