Chapter 2Overview of committee's work in the 47th Parliament
2.1This chapter provides an outline of the committee's work since the commencement of the 47th Parliament on 26 July 2022.
Overview of the committee's work in the 47th Parliament
2.2During the 47th Parliament, the committee has progressed three inquiries relating to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS, or the scheme):
Inquiry into NDIS General Issues
Inquiry into the Capability and Culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA, or the agency)
Inquiry into the NDIS participant experience in rural, regional and remote Australia.
2.3Through these inquiries, the committee has:
received 258 public submissions;
held 13 public hearings;
tabled 3 reports (including this report); and
made 32 recommendations.
2.4The Australian Government has yet to respond to any of these reports or their recommendations.
Inquiry summaries
2.5This section outlines each of the inquiries conducted by the committee during the 47th Parliament, including key evidence, recommendations and other relevant information relating to each report.
NDIS General Issues
2.6The objective of the NDIS General Issues inquiry is to identify broad systemic issues relating to the implementation, performance, governance, administration and expenditure of the NDIS. After 30 June each year, the committee reports to the Parliament on issues that have arisen during the previous 12 months and offers recommendations intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme.
2.7The NDIS General Issues inquiry has published 52 submissions at the time of writing. The committee has not yet held any hearings specific to the NDIS General Issues inquiry, but has received substantial evidence on a range of NDIS-related issues at hearings for other inquiries.
Inquiry into the Capability and Culture of the NDIA
2.8On 8 September 2022, the committee commenced an inquiry into the Capabilityand Culture of the NDIA. The inquiry paid particular attention to:
the NDIA's operational processes and procedures;
the nature of staff employment; and
the impacts of the capability and culture of the NDIA on the experiences of people with disability and NDIS participants trying to access information, support and services from the agency.
2.9The committee received 206 public submissions for this inquiry and held 13public hearings across Australia, in every state and territory except the Northern Territory. Evidence was provided by NDIS participants, their families and carers, NDIA executives, service providers, allied health professionals and other key stakeholders.
Capability and Culture of the NDIA Interim Report
2.10The committee tabled an interim report for this inquiry on 30 March 2023. The interim report contained five recommendations for changes to NDIA operations and culture, with a view to:
ensuring that NDIA staff have comprehensive training in disability awareness and anti-discrimination, and providing support for planners and other NDIA staff, including contact centre staff, to develop specialist skills in specific areas of disability and participants' needs, so the scheme can serve the diversity of NDIS participants;
lifting staffing caps and improving workplace culture to reduce staff turnover and improve the experience of participants through continuity of relationships;
investing in NDIA staff training and updating systems to improve the quality and transparency of decision-making, and to ensure that decisions consistently meet the requirements of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act), so participants do not have to tell their stories again and again to multiple people;
adoption by the NDIA of a participant-led, user-centred design approach to improve the participant experience, including better supporting participants at life-changing events; and
that the government address the concerns of participants that a plan underspend might lead to reduced funding in their next plan.
Capability and Culture of the NDIA Final Report
2.11The committee continued to receive further evidence and hold additional public hearings throughout 2023. On 16 November 2023, the committee tabled a final report for this inquiry.
2.12The final report covered topics including:
guardianship and financial administration for NDIS participants and other people with disability, especially where those services are provided by public guardians, public advocates and public trustees;
the effectiveness of the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program, run by the Department of Social Services (DSS); and
the provision of respite care and short-term accommodation for participants, their families and carers.
2.13The final report made 27 recommendations on a broad range of issues, including:
no longer requiring participants to nominate a 'primary disability' or 'secondary disability';
improving the agency's approach to invisible, episodic, rare and psychosocial disabilities;
focusing the agency's compliance activities on service providers and contractors, to prevent, detect and prosecute systematic fraud;
ensuring access to early childhood intervention services, especially in rural, regional and remote areas;
implementing better protections for participants under guardianship or financial administration orders;
preventing conflicts of interest where support coordination, support provision or accommodation are provided by related entities;
reforming the ILC program;
increasing flexibility in the use of plan funds for short term or emergency accommodation;
improving connections with relevant peak organisations to improve co‑design with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and First Nations communities; and
increasing funding for disability advocacy organisations.
Inquiry into the NDIS participant experience in rural, regional and remote Australia
2.14On 18 October 2023, the committee self-referred an inquiry into the experiences of NDIS participants living in rural, regional and remote Australia, with particular reference to:
the experience of applicants and participants at all stages of the NDIS, including application, plan design and implementation, and plan reviews;
the availability, responsiveness, consistency, and effectiveness of the NDIA in serving rural, regional and remote participants;
participants' choice and control over NDIS services and supports including the availability, accessibility, cost and durability of those services;
the particular experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, participants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and participants from low socio-economic backgrounds, with the NDIS; and
any other related matters.
2.15The committee has set 23 February 2024 as the closing date for submissions and anticipates holding public hearings for this inquiry throughout 2024.
Inquiries by other bodies
2.16During the 47th Parliament, other bodies conducted inquiries that relate to the NDIS and/or people with disability. The work of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (DisabilityRoyal Commission) and the NDIS Review is briefly summarised below and discussed in subsequent chapters. Evidence presented to these inquiries, as well as their reports and recommendations, will continue to inform the work of the committee.
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
2.17On 29 September 2023, the Disability Royal Commission published its final report, making recommendations to improve laws, policies, structures and practices to ensure a more inclusive and just society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
2.18The Disability Royal Commission recommended that the Australian Government enact a Disability Rights Act (DRA) as soon as possible, following close consultation with people with disability, disability representative organisations and other key stakeholders. The proposed legislation would give effect to Australia's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and establish a set of guiding principles to advance the rights of people with disability in Australia.
2.19To support compliance with the DRA, the Disability Royal Commission recommended establishing a National Disability Commission as an independent statutory oversight body, with powers to receive complaints, investigate practices contrary to the DRA, enter into enforceable undertakings, and to issue compliance notices and apply to the Federal Court of Australia for their enforcement.
2.20The Disability Royal Commission made several findings and recommendations of relevance to the committee's work in the 47th Parliament. Key findings include:
that First Nations people experience barriers to accessing the NDIS, including denial of or limited access to culturally safe, inclusive, quality services and supports;
that further work is needed to ensure the aims of the NDIA's 'Practice Guide—Accessible Communication' are realised to help First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities better access and navigate the NDIS, and that the NDIA provide training for staff on how to arrange and work with interpreters;
there are barriers to accessing the NDIS in remote areas of the country;
that the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS QSC) needs to strengthen its regulation and oversight of NDIS-funded disability services as a critical step in preventing and responding to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability using these services;
that the rollout of the NDIS may have increased the number of people under guardianship and administration, due in part to the complexity of the NDIS, and therefore state and territory guardianship and administration legislation should be reformed to recognise and encourage supported decision-making;
that some people with disability lack choice and control in their employment options and are restricted to working in an Australian Disability Enterprise due to systemic and structural issues such as the complexity of the NDIS and availability of supports in employment; and
that the occupancy rights of NDIS participants who live in group homes should be recognised and protected by legislation, with reform needed to NDIS participant funding models to provide greater flexibility in accessing alternative housing options.
2.21The Disability Royal Commission recommended that the Australian Government, and state and territory governments, publish written responses to the final report by 31 March 2024.
2.22In a preliminary response to the recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission, the Australian Government noted that addressing the issues raised would require a national coordinated effort, to include all governments and all members of the community. The government also undertook to:
… engage and consult with people with disability, their families, carers, representative organisations, service providers, unions and the broader community to inform Government decision making on reform and change.
2.23The committee will continue to monitor the Australian Government's response to the Disability Royal Commission's recommendations and provide oversight of their implementation.
NDIS Review
2.24On 18 October 2022, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, Minister for the NDIS established an independent review to examine the scheme's design, operations and sustainability and to consider how to build a more responsive, supportive and sustainable market and workforce.
2.25An overarching purpose of the NDIS Review was to:
… put people with disability back at the centre of the NDIS, restoring, trust, confidence and pride in the NDIS amongst them and their families and carers as well as the broader Australian community, while ensuring the sustainability of the scheme so that future generations receive the benefit of the NDIS.
2.26On 7 December 2023, the NDIS Review published its final report, making 26recommendations, coupled with 139 actions, designed to change not only the scheme but also the broader ecosystem that supports people with disability. A full list of the recommendations and actions is also available on the NDIS Review's website.
2.27Minister Shorten highlighted several key recommendations of the review:
a range of legislative reforms to return the scheme to its original intent and improve the experience of participants;
foundational disability specific supports available to all Australians with disability, whether or not they are NDIS participants, including:
- early childhood intervention to identify and support children with developmental delays; and
- a new approach for people with psychosocial disability to better meet their episodic needs, with improved access to mental health services;
navigators to help people with disability find and access all services available to them across mainstream services, community supports, foundational supports and the NDIS;
a more flexible and innovative approach to housing supports, with consistency in housing and living support budgets; and
registration of all providers, with the level of regulatory requirements being determined by the risk and complexity of the different supports they provide.
2.28Further analysis of the NDIS Review is included in Chapter 6 of this report in the context of scheme sustainability. The committee understands that governments are already responding to the NDIS Review and looks forward to the Australian Government providing a full response to the Review in 2024.