Executive summary
The Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (the committee) is required to produce and table an annual General Issues report, regarding the implementation, performance, governance, administration and expenditure of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). In this report, the committee refers to previous inquiries in relation to the NDIS.
This report also marks ten years since the establishment of the first NDIS committee in the 44th Parliament in 2013. Since its establishment, the committee has conducted numerous inquiries into key aspects of the NDIS in parallel with the implementation of the NDIS. In overseeing the NDIS, the committee has drawn on the experiences and views of NDIS participants, representative organisations, providers, and workers from the disability sector.
In reviewing its substantial work over ten years, the committee highlights three fundamental principles relating to the NDIS which are common across its previous and current inquiries. This report considers the evidence presented to the current General Issues inquiry and previous inquiries in relation to the following themes:
choice and control;
co-design; and
sustainability.
Choice and control for participants is another key principle of the NDIS. The objects of the NDIS Act include to 'enable people with disability to exercise choice and control in the pursuit of their goals and the planning and delivery of their supports', and to support their 'independence and social and economic participation'.
The principle of co-design is central to the NDIS and fulfils the mandate of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (NDIS Act) that people with disability should be involved in decision making processes that affect them. By implementing co-design, government enacts its commitment to work collaboratively with the disability community to design and implement improvements and changes to the scheme.
Sustainability is essential for ensuring the longevity of the NDIS and it is a requirement under the NDIS Act. Previous committee inquiries certainly reinforce the fact that the NDIS is loved and valued by the disability community.
This report examines evidence to the current and previous General Issues inquiries in the context of co-design, choice and control, and sustainability. It also draws on the findings of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability (Disability Royal Commission) and the independent NDIS Review (NDIS Review).
As the only ongoing and permanent body responsible to oversight the NDIS, the committee will play a significant role in monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS Review. In doing so, the committee will draw on the substantial body of work already undertaken over its ten years, including a significant volume of evidence provided by participants and the disability sector.
Acknowledging the ten-year anniversary of the committee, we recognise the work and commitment of current and former committee members, including those members who served on the committee from its inception in 2013.
Finally, the committee would like to highlight the considerable efforts of NDIS participants, their families, carers and all members of the disability sector who have provided evidence to this and other committee inquiries over the past decade. The views, experiences and concerns of participants have informed and shaped the committee’s work and recommendations over that time and have contributed to a significant body of evidence regarding the implementation of the NDIS. The committee thanks them for their dedication to improving the NDIS.