IDEAS has made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) regarding access and independent assessments.
This follows a joint statement from 25 disability advocacy organisations, including IDEAS, which can be found here: Response to Consultation on Proposed NDIS Reforms: Access and Independent Assessments
The APH Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS is conducting inquiries into Independent Assessments, as part of the committee’s role to inquire into the implementation, performance and governance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
An independent assessment is an assessment of a person’s functional capacity, which will be used to inform decisions about eligibility for the NDIS and about funding in a participant’s plan. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) proposes to introduce independent assessments as part of the NDIS access and planning processes in 2021.
The committee is particularly interested in hearing from people with disability, families and carers; The committee is particularly interested in hearing from people with disability, families and carers; allied health professionals; and representative organisations. Full terms of reference for the inquiry are published on the committee’s website. The closing date for submissions to the inquiry is 31 March 2021.
Summary of submission
IDEAS notes that an intellectual and policy construct for independent assessments can be made for the NDIS as an additional tool to assist some intending participants who face other barriers to a streamlined ‘entry’ to the scheme.IDEAS notes that an intellectual and policy construct for independent assessments can be made for the NDIS as an additional tool to assist some intending participants who face other barriers to a streamlined ‘entry’ to the scheme.
Implementation of independent assessments as THE way to enter the scheme is likely to produce perverse outcomes. The prescribed testing tools about which not enough detail is known is likely to flatten any notion of the context of the person and the context of that person’s life.
Our survey of all staff delivered the response that for CALD Australians the independent assessments might have sometimes good and sometimes poor outcomes for accessing the NDIS. This came with the corollary though that in terms of rights; why it shouldn’t be assumed that people from CALD background couldn't have individualised treatment anyway?
IDEAS has consulted across our organisation to provide comprehensive, diverse, and responses aligned by discipline from our staff to the proposed legislative changes for the NDIS on Independent Assessments.
These are the results of an internal survey conducted with our staff. They include people working in the support co-ordinating space, planning space access eligibility and navigation of the NDIS, community connectors, information and content creators, and database management officers, and people with an overview of the history of the scheme and its structures since the enabling legislation in 2013.
Download
Making a submission
The committee invites submissions. The committee particularly welcomes submissions from people with disability, families and carers; allied health professionals; and representative organisations.
Submissions outlining details of individual cases or complaints may assist the committee in identifying broader systemic issues for investigation. More information about submissions can be found online.
The closing date for submissions is 31 March 2021. You can contact the Committee Secretariat if you need more time to make a submission.
Committee Secretariat contact:
Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone: 02 6277 3083
Fax: 02 6277 5829
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
