While there are positive aspects around the NDIS, communication between the National Disability Insurance Agency, services providers, advocates, carers and people with disability was not happening as it should, according to NDIS Minister Bill Shorten. The minister was speaking at the opening of the Disability Connection Expo in Sydney.
The government is moving to address legacy cases in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, getting the pricing right and a review of unregistered providers in an effort to stop what Shorten described as “the NDIS traffic jam”.
There are 4500 people on the NDIS currently in court trying to sort out issues such as home modifications and assistive technology along with massive cuts in their packages. “We are going to blitz those waiting lists because you should not have a lawyer sorting out a government package,” he said.
The government recently announced an increase in the Price Guide to ensure disability carers get the pay rise, without taking away from the number of hours a participant has in resources to allocate.
“At the moment the way we are all talking to each other is not working properly. When you speak to a planner to set up your plan and ring back in six month they are gone and it’s someone else. Talk to a local area coordinator, and yes some of them are brilliant, but some are new to the job.”
He said the NDIS, which was launched by the Gillard Government, has “gone off track.”
“There are a lot of things to be done and we want to tackle some of the issues that are sitting in the too hard basket like the court cases, the housing blockages waiting for approval, and talk up how to train a workforce that is properly remunerated. We want a scheme with accountability so those who are ripping off people with disability and the taxpayers, get their come-uppance.”
Shorten said all this is underpinned by one proposition and that is to restore trust and make the NDIS the best scheme in the world. “Because only when we have the best deal for people with disability in the world, is when we can finally relieve that midnight anxiety. This country should not be measured by the number of millionaires and the number of gold medals, it should be measured on how we treat the most vulnerable and powerless in the nation.”