Disability advocates are pleading with the federal government not to cut critical services in its May budget as some Labor MPs call for a wholesale redesign of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Source: AAP/Canberra Times.
The Government says “extensive” work is being done to rein in the spiralling cost of Australia’s $50 billion disability support program, which is growing at more than 10 per cent a year.
Mandatory registration for providers of supported independent living, which can cover personal care and other tasks such as showering, dressing and cooking, will form a key part of the Government’s plan to halve the growth rate.
Most operators providing NDIS services are not registered, and registration will require them to meet higher quality, safety and worker training standards.
The conversation around reforming the scheme should extend to a major redesign, including a difficult conversation about eligibility, Labor backbencher and paediatrician Mike Freelander said.
He said the NDIS was designed for people with severe disability, and it’s vitally important to keep it for people with severe disability.
The Government was looking at ways to rein in the growing cost of the NDIS, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland told reporters yesterday.
But any cutbacks should not come at the expense of participants’ care, disability advocates warn.
The NDIS had made an “enormous difference” to participants’ lives, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters yesterday, but needed to be sustainable in the long term.
Opposition NDIS spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh agreed an “overhaul” was needed but warned cuts to eligibility were unlikely to help bring down costs, due to cost shifting.
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Labor MPs break ranks on budget disability reform (By Zac de Silva, AAP/The Canberra Times)
