An early report on the future of the NDIS and proposals to restructure the scheme has been delivered by disability advocate and Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott.
Among the 10 recommendations in the report were getting people with disability back into the heart of the NDIS, including more consultation with participants about what they need and greater flexibility with funding.
“I want the lived experience of people with disability to be heard first and foremost and be listened to,” Alcott said.
For the past six months, Alcott and his team have worked with IT services group Accenture and 20 disability sector peak bodies as well as hundreds of participants about their NDIS experiences and what can be done to improve the scheme.
Speaking at the doorstop interview in Canberra, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said the constructive proposals being put forward would “make the NDIS what it should be”.
The decision to review the scheme was precipitated by what he said was the big loss of trust between participants and government in the past few years. “We want to restore the scheme back to its original vision.”
“In the next 12 months we hope to see some green shoots of recovery as the participant experience improves”.
However, there were longer term challenges relating to proper investment in mental health, housing and school systems being responsive to the needs of kids with disability, the minister said.