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A campaign has been launched via Every Australian Counts, uniting more than 200 disability rights groups, who are calling on the Commonwealth Government to slow down its plans to reshape the NDIS. NDIS changes are scheduled to rollout from September this year, but many signatories to the campaign say the sequencing is wrong, and that Foundational Supports, which are intended as offering sources of funding other than NDIS, first need to be drawn up and put in place.
Lauren from Western Australia lives with chronic pain, autism and other disabilities. She has spent the last 15 years engaging with services, yet none of them were able to provide adequate support for her needs. Lauren was assigned to local services that primarily provided support for mental ill health, but due to her physical disabilities, she says it was “extremely difficult to engage fully or receive the full scope of those services.”
Many times, my caseworkers had to step outside their defined roles to assist me, which put them at great risk in terms of their jobs
As someone who relies on disability service providers, Lauren is concerned about the lack of transparency and 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.”
The Government’s decision to push back the implementation of Foundational Supports comes with its own problems.
One of the campaign signatories is People with Disability Australia, the country’s peak body for disability-based advocacy. They are urging all federal election candidates to publicly commit to a national system of properly funded, co-designed foundational supports and hold states and territories accountable for their failure to act. PWDA President, Trinity Ford, says people with disability cannot afford to wait while governments play politics with their lives.
People with disability are being squeezed from both sides. The NDIS is tightening access, reducing the supports available to many participants, and now states and territories are refusing to deliver the services they were always responsible for
PWDA Deputy CEO Megan Spindler-Smith agrees, stressing that due to the Scheme restricting access and supports, the roll out of foundational supports has never been more important. “This delay will push more people into crisis, place additional strain on families and carers, and force more people to rely on already overstretched health and emergency services."
Rights groups are worried if the Government continues with its current plan, participants could end up with the wrong supports or not enough supports - increasing the risks of harm, reduced independence, and poorer outcomes.
Across in WA, Lauren believes that if Foundational Supports don’t address these issues head-on, they’ll “continue to perpetuate the broken system that our government hasn’t yet addressed, leaving people struggling without the care they need.” PWDA President, Trinity Ford, says the delay is an abandonment of responsibility by state and territory governments.
"States and territories cut disability services, handed everything to the NDIS, and now they are kicking the can down the road instead of fixing the gaps they created.”
Image caption: disability advocates giving a statement
Across in WA, Lauren believes that if Foundational Supports don’t address these issues head-on, they’ll “continue to perpetuate the broken system that our government hasn’t yet addressed, leaving people struggling without the care they need.” PWDA President, Trinity Ford, says the delay is an abandonment of responsibility by state and territory governments.
"States and territories cut disability services, handed everything to the NDIS, and now they are kicking the can down the road instead of fixing the gaps they created.”
Allied disability organisations have issued a letter via Every Australian Counts asking the Government to stop accelerating eligibility reassessments. They say removing participants well before promised Foundational Supports are in place jeopardises the safety and wellbeing of people with disability.
“We stand united in demanding that the Government slow down, work with the disability community, and put the safety and wellbeing of people with disability first,” the statement reads.
The new NDIS framework plans are scheduled for rollout from 1 September 2025.
If you would like to read the Every Australian Counts full statement click here.
Powerd Media is awaiting a response from the Department of Social Services.