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.
This agreement between the Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments means that a two year launch will commence from July 2014.
The Commonwealth and WA Government will jointly fund a DisabilityCare Australia launch site in the Perth Hills area, with around 4,300 participants.
This will be delivered by the DisabilityCare Australia Agency under national arrangements set out in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Act 2013.
The two Governments will also jointly fund two sites that will operate under the Western Australian My Way model, in the Lower South West and Cockburn-Kwinana, with around 4,080 participants.
These sites will be delivered by the Western Australia Disability Services Commission under State legislation.
Around 8400 West Australians with disability, their families and carers will benefit from the DisabilityCare Australia and MyWay sites in WA.
As with the other launch sites, there will be an independent evaluation of the services and outcomes in both sites during the launch period so that any positives and negatives can be shared and taken into account in the future delivery of services in Western Australia and full roll-out of DisabilityCare across Australia.
Last week the Prime Minister and Victorian Premier announced Geelong as the location of the head office of DisabilityCare Australia. This is great news for Geelong and another step towards the full rollout of the scheme by 2019.
Once DisabilityCare Australia is fully rolled out, it will support around 460,000 people with significant and permanent disability. It is being rolled out gradually over the next few years because it’s a big change to the current system and the Government needs to make sure everyone is properly supported to make the transition into the scheme.
The launch of DisabilityCare in selected sites across the country will allow the Government to evaluate the operation of the scheme throughout the implementation process, and learn from it so they can make improvements before the full roll out.
The Government is establishing a separate division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to conduct independent reviews of decisions made by DisabilityCare Australia. This will make sure that people who request an independent review will be seen by AAT members experienced in considering DisabilityCare decisions and working with people with disability.
Some people seeking an AAT review may want support while going through the review process. The Government has also provided $860,000 in 2013-14 to support people through the AAT external review process.
They will also fund specific National Disability Advocacy Program providers in launch sites to provide support persons to assist applicants seeking an AAT review of DisabilityCare Australia decisions.
Jenny Macklin and Amanda Rishworth explained that the Government is completely reforming the system, and they want to build a scheme that stands the test of time.
The National Institute of Labour Studies at Flinders University of South Australia will carry out the research independently, starting in 2013 and finishing in 2016.
The evaluation will assess the impact of DisabilityCare Australia on people with disability, their families and carers, and the disability sector.
Evaluation findings will be used for planning and improving the rollout of DisabilityCare Australia. It will also be used when making policies for people with disability in a broad range of policy areas.
The Flinders University team will consult with key stakeholders including people with disability, their families and carers, state and territory governments, and disability sector representatives.
The evaluation will consider:
Join speakers such as the Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin MP, Professor Emeritus Ron McCallum AO and Disability Commissioner Graeme Innes, as well as other high-profile speakers from across the country and the world.
The conference will bring together more than 1,000 Australians to discuss DisabilityCare Australia, the national disability insurance scheme.
The conference will provide a forum for people to share their unique experiences with disability, find out about the DisabilityCare, how it will work and how governments will help people and service providers transition to this new system of support.
The conference will also offer a premiere look at the Practical Design Fund projects, an initiative that delivers practical solutions and innovative ways to assist people with disability, their families and carers, as well as service providers, to get ready for DisabilityCare Australia.
The conference will include a dinner on the Sunday evening where delegates can network, share your experience and hear more about DisabilityCare Australia.
Early Bird (closes 7 June 2013) $250
Dinner Ticket $80
Standard $300
Dinner Ticket $80
Pension Card Holders* $30
Dinner $20
*Individuals registering for the conference who have a pensioner concession card are entitled to register at the concession rate.
For further information and to register for the Conference, please visit www.ndis.gov.au.
The scheme will eventually cover an estimated 7000 NT residents with significant or profound disabilities.
“The NDIS is the reform of a generation and has the potential to transform the lives of people in the Northern Territory with disability, their families and carers,” Ms Gillard said in a statement.
Under the agreement, the scheme will launch at a single site in July next year.
Other eligible people with disability in the NT will start entering the scheme from July 2016, and by July 2019 all eligible NT residents will be covered by the scheme.
When the scheme is fully up and running the federal government will pay for about 51 per cent at a cost of about $105 million. The NT will provide the remainder of about $99 million.
The NT deal means Liberal West Australian Premier Colin Barnett is the only leader yet to agree to the disability insurance scheme.
The 9 May 2013 agreement between the Federal and Queensland Governments will see DisabilityCare Australia become a reality for around 97,000 Queenslanders with disability.
The Federal Government has now secured full agreements with most state and territory governments, meaning almost 90 per cent of Australians will be covered by DisabilityCare Australia.
DisabilityCare Australia is designed to give people with disability (and their families and carers) more choice and control over the supports they receive, and peace of mind that they’ll get the care and support they need in the event of significant and permanent disability, or if they have a child with disability that leaves them needing daily care and support.
To cover all people in Queensland, in 2019-20 the Queensland Government will provide $2.03 billion and the Australian Government will contribute around $2.14 billion to the scheme for Queenslanders.
This agreement builds on those with the governments of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory and the agreement to launch the scheme in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory.
The countdown to launch in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania is on – it’s just over seven weeks away. Stay tuned to progress towards the launch by checking in on the website – www.ndis.gov.au – and we’ll continue to keep you updated through the Deaf Australia blog too.
It will start in the ACT and NT in July 2014 and in Queensland in 2016. It will become available for everyone in all states and territories except WA from about 2018. The Australian Government is still negotiating with WA. DisabilityCare will have a big impact on Deaf people. How you get services will be different.
Deaf Australia is holding a number of forums around Australia about the new DisabilityCare Australia (the National Disability Insurance Scheme – NDIS).
Generally, forums are specially for Deaf people and will be in Auslan. No interpreting will be provided – however, please let us know if you need a Deafblind interpreter.
Interpreters will be provided for the Darwin forum.
Refreshments will be provided.
Mackay – Thursday, 16 May 6.30pm to 8.30pm
George Street Neighbourhood Centre
4 George Street, Mackay
Townsville – Friday, 17 May 2012 – 7pm to 9 pm
Deaf Services Qld
111 Charters Towers Road, Townsville
Cairns – Saturday 18 May 2013 – 2.30pm to 4.30pm
Direct Employment Services
225 Sheridan Street, Cairns
Melbourne – Thursday, 23 May 6.00pm to 8.00pm
FJ Rose Auditorium, Deaf Children Australia
597 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Bendigo – Tuesday, 11 June 2013 – 6pm to 8pm
Bendigo Health’s Havlin St East Complex
37 Havlin St East, Bendigo
Ballarat – Wednesday 12 June 2013 – 6pm to 8pm
The Boardroom, Ballarat Business Centre
Ballarat Business Centre
15 Dawson Street South, Ballarat
Adelaide – Saturday 22 June 2013 – 2.00pm to 5.00pm
Deaf Community Hall,
262 South Terrace, Adelaide
Darwin – Thursday 6 June 2013 – 6pm to 8pm
DeafNT office
Shop 14B Casuarina Plaza, 258 Trower Road, Casuarina
Sydney – Monday 27 May 2013 – 6pm to 8pm
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts – L1 Carmichael Room
280 Pitt Street, Sydney
Brisbane – Wednesday 26 June 2013 – 6pm to 8pm
Deaf Services Qld
915 Ipswich Road, Moorooka
Brisbane Seniors – Thursday 27 June 2013 – 12.30pm for 1pm start
Mary Mac Hall
616 Ipswich Road, Annerley
The Tribunal is an independent statutory body that reviews a broad range of administrative decisions made by Australian Government ministers, officers, authorities and Tribunals.
The positions, which have arisen due to the designation of the Tribunal as the external merits review body for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), are:
Further information about the NDIS can be found at www.ndis.gov.au.
The successful candidate must have a high-level of demonstrated experience, knowledge or expertise with disability. Individuals with a lived experience of disability are particularly encouraged to apply. The successful candidate must have the ability to conduct hearings and must also have decision-making and decision-writing skills. Legal qualifications are not required.
The advertisement for all positions was published in the Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Melbourne Age, Canberra Times, Adelaide Advertiser, and the Hobart Mercury on Saturday 30 March 2013. The advertisement has also been placed on the APS Employment Gazette at www.apsjobs.gov.au.
A full information package, including the selection criteria, is currently available from the Attorney-General Department’s website at www.ag.gov.au/AATemployment.
Further information on the available position can be obtained by emailing [mailto][email protected][/mailto] or by calling Edward Lee on (02) 6141 3439.
Congratulations and a big thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to make this happen. And a special thank you to the chief drivers of it in the Parliament – Jenny Macklin in the House and Jan McLucas in the Senate; and also to Bill Shorten for his earlier and ongoing championing of the NDIS.
This week, the Government also announced the name for the scheme – DisabilityCare Australia.
According to the Government, the NDIS will give people with disability choice and control over the care and support they receive.
The Bill establishes the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the NDIS Launch Transition Agency (the Agency) to deliver the launch of the scheme.
About 26,000 people with significant and permanent disabilities, their families and carers, will benefit from the first stage of the NDIS. The Government has provided $1 billion to launch the NDIS from 1 July this year.
As a result of the agreement reached between the Australian and New South Wales governments in December last year, the NDIS will roll out in full across NSW by July 2018.
The Australian Government continues to work with other states and territories towards agreement to roll out the NDIS across Australia.
The Agency now has an established presence in the launch sites. When the scheme launches in July this year, there will be more than 250 people working in seven regional offices in the launch locations.
The Agency will work with people with disability to develop a personal plan that identifies the person’s needs, goals and life aspirations, and recognises the support they receive from family and friends. This plan forms the basis of the person’s funded NDIS support package which they can choose to manage themselves or with the help of local Agency workers, family or friends.
The Bill, and the amendments agreed during the Bill’s progress through the Parliament, was heavily shaped by the feedback the Government received from people with disability, their families, carers and service providers, through consultations across the country.
[tabset style=”vertical”] [tab title=”Amendment 1.” active=”yes”] Elevating the importance of certain obligations that Australia has as a party to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and explicitly recognising the broader context for disability reform. This ensures that the rights of people with disability, their families and carers are at the heart of the NDIS. [/tab] [tab title=”Amendement 2.” active=”no”] Clarification that people who need early intervention therapies and supports, including for degenerative conditions, and who are not better supported by another systems such as the health care system, can access the NDIS. [/tab] [tab title=”Amendment 3.” active=”no”] Clarification that all people who are NDIS participants will be able to choose to remain in the scheme after they turn 65. [/tab] [tab title=”Amendment 4.” active=”no”] Changes to the compensation provisions so that the NDIS Launch Transition Agency (the Agency) can conduct legal proceedings on behalf of a person with disability who does not choose to conduct those proceedings. [/tab] [tab title=”Amendment 5.” active=”no”] Ensuring the NDIS Board receives and considers actuarial advice, helping to safeguard the financial sustainability of the NDIS. [/tab] [tab title=”Amendment 6.” active=”no”] Recognising the important role of advocacy in the lives of people with disability. [/tab] [tab title=”Amendment 7.” active=”no”] Bolstering the requirements for representation of people with disability on the NDIS Advisory Council. [/tab] [/tabset]
