Over the past year, we've heard your stories, stories that outline your experiences with the NDIS and with disability more broadly in Australia.
We have heard a lot about how the processes in the NDIS are at best confusing and at worst traumatising.
When we deliver our report to government, we will be recommending changes to access and planning in the NDIS.
We want to make sure access and planning processes are fair, transparent and easy to understand.
We want to build a scheme that understands you and your way of life.
Plans should be based on an assessment that's all about you, that takes the time to really understand, what supports you need to live your best life and achieve your goals.
The scheme needs to improve its focuses on functional impairment rather than medical diagnosis and on what your support needs are rather than you having to prove how bad your situation is, you know, taking a deficit approach.
We want you to feel safer and stronger so that you can plan your future in a scheme that has your genuine best interests at heart.
Over the past year, the panel has heard from many of you about your experience with both the NDIS and the wider disability support system in Australia. In fact this is the number one issue you have told us about.
Many of you have told us about your positive experience with the NDIS. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for everyone. We have heard from too many people who have had stressful and traumatic experiences. We have understood that in the majority of cases this is because of your experiences in the access and planning process, to receive a plan and budget that meets your support needs.
For the scheme to properly support you, you should be confident that it is designed to understand and meet your needs, now and in the future. It must help you achieve what is important to you.
You should have confidence that your funding is based on need, and be supported to find the services you need to help you live an ordinary and inclusive life.
You should feel that your plan is based on an assessment that enables you to find and be supported to use a range of supports to live your life and progress your goals.
We want to see changes to the access, budget setting and budget implementation processes so that they are transparent, fair and easy to understand. An improved experience that supports your goals.
Until next time,
Bruce and Lisa
Public submissions available to view
Many comments, discussions and submissions commented on the need to improve the client experience.
Feeling like it depends on the planner and their personality rather than solid processes and procedures as to how my plan might turn out.
Current forms are cumbersome and inefficiently designed, with an emphasis on the requirement for the use of correct phrasing to obtain approvals as opposed to a narrative that conveys what supports the patient requires
NDIS is not consistent with decisions... saying [something] is NOT approved but yet others get it (that need it less)... only because of who made the decision on the day at NDIA.
View the submissions published to date at the NDIS Review website - submissions page.