National Disability Insurance Scheme
The NDIS is possibly the most generous such scheme in the world and we’re very lucky to have it here in Australia. It’s existed since legislation brought it into being in 2013. In QLD it took over responsibility for a number of programmes, most notably VOSS and MASS.
Sadly, as with any huge and hugely expensive governmental programme it’s sometimes used as a political topic for one party, media group or another to find exceptional examples and suggest that it’s ineffectively managed and wasteful. Nonetheless, it’s likely to endure as an Australian government programme into the future albeit with periodic changes as responsibility for individual areas is shifted between state and federal governments.
It’s an insurance scheme, not a welfare scheme. It doesn’t supplement anyone’s income. It aims to try to level the playing field for those living with profound disability, as far as possible to enable them to participate in Australian society as equals (to their able-bodied peers).
So for example, NDIS funds shouldn’t be used to pay entry to a swimming pool but could be used for the cost of a support worker who’d help the participant change and access the pool, an EP to accompany them while they’re in and exercising, and their support worker to help them get out, showered and dressed afterwards.
Applying to join the NDIS
FA is a progressive condition. Realistically, every FAer will need to join the NDIS at some stage. It's strongly recommended that you visit their website (www.ndis.gov.au) to become familiar with it. When you do want to apply:
· Who can provide a diagnosis? GP, neurologist (if you haven’t before, make contact with the Brisbane FA Clinic, details here), psychologist plus others
· Access Request Form is the application form
· Evidence/report confirming diagnosis should note impact of the disability on your life
· Describe previous treatments, future treatments & expected outcomes
· Carer’s impact statement: discuss the impact of the disability on mobility, communication, self care, social interaction, learning, self management; impact on person, friends, family (on your worst day – remember, this is not about self-motivation. Good days are for you to celebrate but they’re not why you need the NDIS. You’re making a case for NDIS funding – why do you need it?)
Thoughts on the NDIS:
OT functional review: since the government’s response to the NDIS review in 2024, they've said very clearly that they're more interested in people's functional capacity than their diagnosis. This makes sense (even if those in government often fail to live up to their own words). A functional assessment by an OT spells out how an individual functions throughout their daily life and gives the NDIS specifics they can hold onto and address. If well planned, the functional assessment can include recommendations for how regular therapy (CB support) and personal support (Core Support) would help an individual reach their stated NDIS goals. OT reports tend to be written in a style and language that NDIS understands.
Assessments: It's sad but true that psychologically it's beneficial for all of us to see ourselves at our able best, but that's not how anyone should be assessed when seeking support from the NDIS. An assessment should describe a person at their absolute worst, most incapable. That's not dishonest, it's why that individual needs NDIS support and usually, even if it describes only a fleeting, rare occasion at present, that would become the norm if support were to be declined.
Reports: we probably read reports much more thoroughly than the NDIS does. But for therapists, they should assume that the target audience for any written report is the NDIS. Encouragement and positive reinforcement should be delivered by a therapist to a client verbally. It should be very clear in any report what deficits a client experiences, what support they would benefit from, why (how it'll help them achieve their NDIS goals), and how progress should be assessed.
Who: often people include only reports that the NDIS ask for, from therapists in support of Capacity Building support. I recommend including submissions also from support workers noting what support they offer, how it enables their clients to participate in society and what difference they believe this makes in the life of their clients.
"until when?": The government (and opposition parties and major media) like to think of the NDIS as a temporary support scheme. They pretend to themselves that people in the scheme won't be in it forever, when the reality is that most people in the NDIS will indeed need support all their lives and in many cases their support needs will increase over time. Nonetheless, the people at the NDIS conducting a review don't look far into the future nor the past. Any report they read needs to describe an individual's support needs today and over the coming 12 months.
When we were introduced to the NDIS before it even rolled out in QLD…
On December 13th 2015 Sean Redmond from YFS gave a terrific presentation at a FAN meeting about how the NDIS will work. All FAers will need to access the NDIS sometime and there’s no time like the present for learning about it as the NDIS will launch a QLD trial site in early 2016 and roll out across the state until full coverage is achieved, scheduled in 2019.
The full presentation is about two hours long but YouTube has a file size limit which meant I had to cut it into sections of about 6 minutes each.