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Last week, Powerd did a media request on our social platforms to find out what the community thought about foundational supports. Some responses were used in the latest episode of Pillar to Post, which you can find here with a transcript, and a summary is available here. All the responses were thoughtful and considered and here they are in full:
What do you know about foundational supports?
"I have no idea what foundational supports are or how they’re used but im all for more support if it’s done well which often doesn’t happen when the gov dig in"
"The government proposed Foundational Supports are to help fill the gaps in care outside the NDIS. The purpose for this is providing support for people who are not yet eligible for the scheme or those in the process of applying. However, my understanding is that these supports are still not fully defined and there is no clear guideline as to what they will include. My concern is that with such a lack of transparency and no real collaboration with the disability community, these proposed supports may not be comprehensive enough or adequately tailored to the diverse needs of disabled individuals, particularly for those with more complex or intersectional needs."
"I don't know if most people realise how many community-based disability supports disappeared ten years ago when the NDIS came. Like you can no longer go to your local council and receive help with cleaning or meals if you are disabled. Many local community centres have stopped running support groups that were relied on by people with serious mental health issues. Community health services stopped running early childhood intervention services (Physio, OT, psych for disabled kids). There's no little bits of help available anymore. It's either the big massive, awful behemoth of the NDIS or no support beyond your family if you have one. Foundational Supports is about bringing back smol disability supports for any disabled people who need it."
The following reports were also used as background reading for the interview:
What are you hoping for when foundational supports roll out?
"I hope foundational supports will be accessible and tailored to the unique needs of individuals, especially those with disabilities that don’t fit into simple categories. There needs to be more support for people with psychosocial disabilities, chronic illnesses, and neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with overlapping needs.
From my experience, it’s very easy to fall through the cracks. Services weren’t available to address both my physical and psychosocial disabilities, and I had to travel and self-fund for many of the therapies that made a difference, such as physiotherapy, psychology, occupational therapy, and other services the NDIA now labels as “non-evidence-based”.
Unfortunately, this self-funding wasn’t sustainable and often isn’t for disabled people in my position, as many of us rely on a disability pension, which seldom covers the basic cost of living.
These ‘new’ supports must be designed with accessibility in mind — not just for physical disabilities, but for the full spectrum of needs, including physical access requirements, which I struggled with when seeking psychosocial support. It’s also crucial that these supports include accommodations for people who are immunocompromised, particularly in light of the ongoing pandemic.
Ultimately, these supports should provide holistic, person-centred care that addresses all aspects of a person’s life, rather than focusing on just one need, and these supports should be decided by collaborating with and alongside members of the disabled community, their families, and even some scheme participants."
My hope is that they bring back all these lost supports but do it better than before. I'd like to see greater consistency so that everyone has access to essential supports no matter where they live. I want Foundational Supports to be meaty, practical help - not self-help groups, information or skills training but in-home support, support to get out into the community and equipment. It should be NDIS Lite.
Further reading:
- ‘Who looks after me?’ More than 40% of disability carers have disability themselves – and they need more support
- Where are Foundational Supports?
- Original Design to Delayed Reality of Foundational Supports
- In search of clarity on the new supports outside the NDIS
- Explainer: What are Foundational Supports?
- Disability Supports Beyond the NDIS