COAG Disability Reform Council Meeting: NDIS information

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Disability Reform Council (the Council) had a meeting on 18 December in Melbourne to discuss the NDIS. At the meeting, all the governments said that they want the NDIS to continue and to be available all over Australia.

Report from National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Board

The report said that the NDIS trial sites were going well so far, and people who are getting support from the NDIS say it is making a difference to them and their families. The NDIS means that people with disability get more choice and control over their support needs.
Even though things are going well, the Government is learning a lot from the trial, and plans to make some changes when the full rollout of the NDIS happens. The Government needs to make sure that it is easy for people to access the NDIS and that there will be the right amount of money each year to give people the support they need.
The NDIA Board must now write a report for the Council about the things in the NDIS that are the most expensive and give some recommendations about changes in the future to make sure the NDIS stays within budget.

Evaluation

The National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) at Flinders University (in South Australia) is working with disability experts to look at the NDIS trial areas and tell the Government about the successes and problems that are happening in this early stage.
This will start in early 2014.

National Standards for Disability Services

The Council wants to make sure people with disability get good services. So they have approved new National standards for Disability Services. The NDIS has to follow these standards.

National Injury Insurance Scheme

The National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) is for people who have a disability because of a car accident, work accident, medical injury and/or a general accident. The Productivity Commission say that it will be a big part of changing the way people with disability get services.
There is still a lot of work for the Government to do before the NIIS will be ready.

Next Meeting

At the next meeting, in March 2014, the Council will talk about ideas for improving the NDIS.
If you want to read the full communiqué from COAG, please click here to download it here.