The Albanese Government’s plans to radically overhaul the National Disability Insurance Scheme have hit a stumbling block after a parliamentary report into the reforms was delayed for a second time. Source: The Australian.
The Senate inquiry report was initially expected last Tuesday and granted a three-day extension.
But on Friday, it requested a further extension to tomorrow.
Labor is looking to strike a deal with the Coalition to pass the reforms through the upper house, where the opposition holds the balance of power, after the Greens ruled out support for the bill.
Department officials revealed during the inquiry that the number of people expected to exit the scheme by 2031 would total 240,000 under the changes.
These would be offset by the 80,000 expected entrants to the scheme in the same time period.
About $15 billion will be cut from the scheme over the next four years through an eligibility crackdown that seeks to target rorting in the system.
The government expects the reforms to reduce the scheme’s cost to $55 billion over forward estimates instead of more than $70 billion in 2030, as current projections show.
Speaking ahead of the announcement on Friday, Health Minister Mark Butler said: “There will be debate around this. There was when the bill was before the House of Representatives, but I know in their heart of hearts the vast bulk of MPs and senators in the federal parliament, and I suspect, in state parliaments, recognise that this NDIS scheme has gone off track.
“It’s an incredibly important reform, a significant advance in human rights for our country, but it needs to be brought back on track and it needs to happen quickly.”
In a submission to the inquiry, state and territory health ministers said they had “made no agreement to deliver like-for-like services”, highlighting they had not agreed to fund so-called foundational supports such as Thriving Kids, an off-NDIS scheme for children with mild to moderate autism.
Mr Butler said: “We’re working constructively with states. That doesn’t mean sometimes that there’s not a bit of friction in the relationship. That is a pretty regular feature of the federation, has been since 1901.”
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Government’s National Disability Insurance Scheme overhaul stalled by second report delay (By Alexander Britton, The Australian)
