The NDIS Review Report was released on Thursday, 7 December, and presents 26 recommendations and 139 actions to improve the NDIS. Over the coming months DSV will be releasing some varying perspectives on the review recommendations, and what they mean for different people in our community.
First up we’re hearing from Pieta Manning, a DSV Board member and mother to Caitlin, ‘a busy, vibrant 21-year-old woman living a life of her own design.’
While we all hoped there would be some major changes result from the recent NDIS review, I’m not sure any of us expected the extent of those flagged by Minister Shorten in his National Press Club address. These are just recommendations to the government at this stage and may not all be implemented but a good indication of what the government will prioritise is given in Minister Shorten’s speech, where he highlighted seven main points from the report.
What I heard.
1. Development of Foundational Support:
As outlined in recommendation 1, the state and federal governments will invest in developing foundational supports that will sit outside the NDIS and, therefore, be accessible to anyone in the community who needs support across a range of life stages. This signals a return to greater access to local services for those not eligible for the NDIS.
2. Navigators – a new name for some familiar roles:
To better connect people with disability to support both inside and outside NDIS, recommendation 4 suggests the development of the Navigator role. Navigators will support people through accessing the NDIS, connecting with mainstream and funded services, and providing specialist help at significant life stages. This sounds like an amalgamation of the Local Area Coordinator and Support Coordinator roles, and Minister Shorten even suggested in his speech that Support Coordinators would make great Navigators. The report suggests that these Navigators will be employed externally by the NDIA through local organisations but accountable to nationally consistent training and oversight.
3. Reducing the stress of plan reassessments:
In line with recommendation 3, Minister Shorten spoke about ‘humanising the planning process’. This will be addressed by introducing Needs Assessors who will identify the person’s support needs and decide the evidence-based supports, intensity and frequency they require for their individual needs. These assessors will be properly trained and have the relevant qualifications to complete this role. As daunting as the title sounds, dealing with assessors with some basic skills and qualifications will be good.
4. Better support for children under nine and their families (reinventing the wheel):
Recommendation 6 suggests an investment in ‘a continuum of mainstream, foundational and specialist supports to address the needs of all children with disability and developmental concerns’. The minister talked about the importance of early intervention support for both children and their families and how this will be implemented by a qualified person called a Lead Practitioner. Well, gee – imagine a collaborative early intervention model that supported the whole family to help a child meet developmental goals! (Yup, I am old enough to remember the days of the community Early Intervention service as an essential hub for families).
5. A new approach to Psychosocial support:
The minister acknowledged that the NDIS had not always been successful in supporting people with Psychosocial disabilities, in understanding the episodic nature of Psychosocial disability or recovery-focused support. This is addressed in recommendation 7, which foundational support and early intervention support extended to non-NDIS participants and include Psychosocial Recovery Navigators. He also reassured the audience that people with significant and permanent impairments currently on the scheme will still be covered.
6. The future of home & living supports:
While saying there was support for people to live independently with choice, Minister Shorten also said that funding would default to a model of three people sharing a house and support. But, if an assessment shows a more intensive level is needed, this will be provided. The see-saw ride continued with the statement that while wanting to crack down on ‘shonky providers’, there was also a need for real innovation in this area. Recommendation 8 suggests (yet another) specialist Navigator role to support people with the home and living exploration process and comprehensive assessment process of the individual’s needs. This is definitely an area to keep an eye on. With many participants just starting to see the benefits of Independent Living Options and other innovative models, we must safeguard this flexibility for our community’s future.
7. (The big one) Mandatory registration or enrolment for all services and supports.
Recommendation 17 calls for the risk-proportionate registration system to give the NDIA full visibility of all providers being paid through the scheme. The minister said real-time payments will help prevent fraud, sharp practice, price gouging and over-servicing. The example given around ‘risk-proportionate’ was that someone mowing lawns would obviously have a far simpler registration process than someone providing more complex supports inside someone’s home. He made it clear that this system will be co-designed with people with disability, tested, and brought in over time to maintain the principle of choice and control and make sure there is no risk of people losing support. We have been hearing calls for the removal of non-registered providers from the scheme for a while now, but equally loud and compelling have been the arguments for choice and control and positive outcomes from accessing independent support models. If accessing mainstream, independent, non-NDIA registered support is important to you, make sure you contribute to any feedback or co-design opportunities that are presented.
Finally – all of this will take time: The last three recommendations of the report outline a staged five-year transition period for the implementation of all of the report recommendations. This was reiterated by Minister Shorten, who confirmed an expected five-year timeframe.
Hang on – just one more thing: During question time, Minister Shorten was asked what these changes would mean for Plan Managers. He answered very directly that, ‘the NDIS is about funding people with disability, not a business model’. Once full electronic payment in real time is developed, the role will not be needed. He went further to call out big businesses that were making large profits from this function.
So what can we do next?
1. Breathe. Nothing is happening quickly here. Implementing these recommendations will require substantial consultation with the community, changes to the NDIS legislation, establishing a new trained workforce, and developing complex technology to support the new systems.
2. Keep doing what works for you. There is no need to change any of your current supports or your planned supports. Keep working with your support providers, community groups and services to get the best outcomes you can.
3. Be ready to share. There will be opportunities for the community to contribute to the discussion as new frameworks are developed. It will be critical that we tell the government what aspects of the current systems work well and that we want to see continue. This will be particularly important in the areas of home and living, accessing mainstream services and self-management.
4. Take care of yourself. The NDIS has been in a state of constant change since its inception in 2013. For participants, nominees, families and supporters, this is exhausting.
This next phase of change is going to be challenging and provoke strong emotions, so it is important that we keep ourselves safe while also supporting each other.