Nearly three-quarters of disability care providers are considering shutting their doors, as organisations working with the National Disability Insurance Scheme say a recent cap on price growth will leave their work financially unviable. Source: The Australian.
Ahead of a long-awaited government response to the five-year disability royal commission that called for a major shake-up of the sector and an end to the “segregation” of disabled Australians, a damning report by the National Disability Service revealed most surveyed providers had been sent into “absolute crisis mode” by the National Disability Insurance Agency’s decision to increase price limits by just 3.19 per cent.
According to the research by the NDS – the peak body for disability providers – 75 per cent of the 1200 small to large organisations surveyed were considering shutting their doors.
More than 80 per cent said the pricing review decision had forced them to “actively reconsider their future”, which could include limiting services or closing all together, because increase to price limits fell “well short” of what was needed to keep up with the rising costs of service delivery.
NDS policy and advocacy director Emily Forrest said the peak body had been “flooded with concerns” from disability organisations over their inability to keep delivering services following the price review.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said he understood “a range of businesses are doing it tough at the moment” and the NDIA was “working towards delivering a new pricing approach in 2025 that ensures the market is able to support the diverse needs of NDIS participants and the scheme’s ongoing sustainability”.
He noted the agency was working through “the unintended impacts” of changes to high intensity support payments and the pricing review was conducted independent of the Government and in line with comprehensive research.
The NDIS review, handed down at the end of last year, recommended mandatory registration of all providers, which Mr Shorten indicated he would pursue as part of a raft of reforms to the $42 billion-a-year scheme.
FULL STORY
Two thirds of disability providers to walk away from sector (By Sarah Ison, The Australian)
