4.1
This chapter provides a brief statement of issues raised in submissions and during hearings. The committee will consider these issues, and further evidence relating to matters discussed previously in this report, in the coming months, and proposes to present a more detailed report later this Parliament. The final report will include further recommendations to improve the capability and culture of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
4.2
Finally, this chapter provides a committee view on the matters discussed in the earlier chapters and sets out the committee's work plan.
Other matters raised
4.3
Outlined below is a sample of issues identified during the present inquiry that the committee intends to consider more closely in the coming months. Key issues include:
respite services for families and carers;
recognition of deafblind as a single disability;
the effectiveness of the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building program of the Department of Social Services;
identification of, and support for, primary and secondary disabilities;
outreach programs for remote, underserved and hard-to-reach communities;
plans being charged where services are cancelled at short notice;
the capability of the NDIA to track, monitor and prosecute plan mismanagement and fraud;
recruitment, engagement and ongoing management of NDIA staff with disability;
support for people with psychosocial disabilities;
recognition of, and provision of supports for, invisible, episodic, rare, and multiple disabilities; and
the increasing number of NDIS participants who are subject to Public Guardianship and Public Trustee arrangements.
Committee view
4.4
The committee has decided to table this interim report, with a final report with recommendations to follow. Throughout this report the committee has identified issues that have been raised before and where the committee has made recommendations to address these concerns in earlier reports. The committee has also noted, where relevant, the government response and progress reports on implementation. The committee will closely consider these responses and take evidence from NDIA officials at public hearings in the coming months to further understand where progress is being made and where further action is needed.
4.5
The committee notes that some of its previous recommendations to address the issues outlined in this report have been swiftly implemented. However, other recommendations have been repeated over many years to successive governments, such as the recommendation that NDIS participants receive a draft plan before a final plan is agreed to by the delegate. Late in 2022 the NDIA initiated a pilot to change plan approval processes, but it is not yet clear whether it will result in the implementation of draft plans. The committee will continue to monitor the implementation of this and other recommendations, and hold the government to account.
4.6
The committee is particularly moved by evidence that participants feel distressed, frustrated, and unheard when planners do not understand their lived experience of disability. Planners are a key interface between participants and the NDIS. If planners do not understand a participant's disability and how it impacts their daily life, this is likely to have a negative effect on a participant's plan and their experience of the NDIS.
4.7
The committee recommends that NDIA staff have comprehensive training in disability awareness and anti-discrimination, and that the government support 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.
4.8
The committee has heard the stories of participants who are frustrated at having to tell their stories and provide documentation to prove their disability over and over again. Many participants have also felt that NDIA staff do not understand their lived experience of disability. Submitters have told us that this is exacerbated by high staff turnover. The committee also heard evidence that unreasonable workloads can make it difficult for planners to take the necessary time to read reports and understand participant needs.
4.9
The committee recommends that the government lift staffing caps and improve workplace culture to reduce staff turnover and improve the experience of participants through continuity of relationships.
4.10
The committee recommends that the government invest in training NDIA staff and updating systems to improve the quality and transparency of decision-making, and to ensure that decisions consistently meet the requirements of the NDIS Act, so participants do not have to tell their stories again and again to multiple people.
4.11
The committee has heard from submitters criticising the NDIA for a lack of meaningful engagement with the disability community, attributing this to inaccessible systems, a lack of transparency, minimal participation and unfair decision-making. The committee acknowledges the NDIA Engagement Framework, but believes more could be done to centre the experience of people with disability in the design of NDIA systems and processes.
4.12
The committee recommends that the NDIA adopt a participant-led, user-centred design approach to improve the participant experience, including better supporting participants at life-changing events.
4.13
The committee has heard the fears of participants that they may lose funding for necessary supports, where they have been unable to access services. Participants have reported feeling pressured to use up funding ahead of a plan review, for fear that funding would otherwise be cut in their next plan. This is an especially difficult problem for participants in rural, regional and remote areas, where supports can be difficult to access.
4.14
The committee recommends that the government address the concerns of participants that a plan underspend might lead to reduced funding in their next plan.
4.15
As outlined in previous chapters, several measures to improve the culture and capability of the NDIA have been implemented or are in progress. These initiatives include the current NDIS Review, establishment of the Co-Design and Engagement Branch, and an Independent Expert Review (IER) Pathway pilot to reduce disputes and appeals to the AAT. These initiatives are encouraging; it is too early to know whether they will be effective.
4.16
The committee intends to continue its program of hearings across Australia, including in rural and remote locations. The committee will also reflect upon evidence raised in submissions. The committee expects to provide a final report later in this Parliament. The committee is committed to making the NDIS easier and better for participants, their families, their carers and advocates.
Ms Libby Coker MPSenator Hollie Hughes
ChairDeputy Chair