The NDIS Review spoke in a webinar this morning about the 10 key areas for reform:
- Community-wide foundational supports.
Mainstream services such as health and education must meet their obligations to people with disability. These systems and the NDIA must work much more closely with one another.
- Improve participant experience.
The NDIS needs to be more person-centred and consider the intersectional needs of all First Nations people, people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, people of all genders, and people with complex support needs – including around Supported Decision Making.
- Access to the NDIS.
Access needs to be based on ‘significant functional impairment’, not purely medical and diagnostic measures.
- Definition of Reasonable and Necessary supports.
The NDIS needs a clear, fair and consistent definition of ‘Reasonable and Necessary’.
- Early Childhood.
The additional support needs of children with developmental delays should be identified as early as possible in mainstream settings. Identification of these should be based on best practice evidence and principles. The aim is to maximise the benefits of early intervention.
- Housing and Living.
This needs to focus on people’s current and future housing needs. There needs to be a more consistent approach to these areas that would give participants more certainty. Individualised solutions are needed.
- Intermediaries such as Local Area Coordinators (LACs) and NDIS Planners.
There needs to be clarity on whether these folk are working on behalf of participants or the NDIS.
- NDIS Market.
The NDIS Market is not delivering enough of the right supports in the right locations – let alone value or innovation. Participants need a greater say in how the market and services are shaped.
- Workforce.
Positive NDIS outcomes depend on a diverse, well-trained workforce that works with people with disability.
- Quality and Safeguards.
There needs to be proportionate regulation and a better quality and safeguards framework. This needs to be updated and expanded to include foundational supports as well as the NDIS. There needs to be better information sharing between regulators, and developmental safeguards need to be improved.
https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/about
You can read iur submission the NDIS Review here