This Is NOT A Drill!
Details are below.
Our deadline is 9 July, 2021.
We must act now to save our NDIS!
Our deadline is 9 July, 2021.
We must act now to save our NDIS!
What's going on?
On July 9, NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds will meet with State and Territory Disability Reform Council Ministers to try to persuade them to give in principle support for a new, secret Bill.
The Bill is called The NDIS Participant Guarantee and Full Scheme Bill.
The contents of the Bill are secret, but we have been advised about the contents via a leak.
It's imperative that State and Territory Ministers say NO to this Bill and any changes to the legislation.
Our NDIS is at risk.
Without your help, this could destroy the scheme we fought for and wreak havoc among the lives of disabled people.
The Bill is called The NDIS Participant Guarantee and Full Scheme Bill.
The contents of the Bill are secret, but we have been advised about the contents via a leak.
It's imperative that State and Territory Ministers say NO to this Bill and any changes to the legislation.
Our NDIS is at risk.
Without your help, this could destroy the scheme we fought for and wreak havoc among the lives of disabled people.
Why Should They Say No?
The Bill talks about scheme sustainability and the trial results of the States and Territories.
But they have not presented any sustainable evidence that the scheme is not sustainable.
In fact, the original architects of the scheme, as well as actuarial experts, say there is no evidence that the scheme is unsustainable and that the changes completely undermine the vision of the NDIS.
The disability sector, including disabled persons organisations, disability representative organisations, allied health professionals and the disability service provision sector are united in rejecting these changes outright.
The States and Territories pay half of the money toward NDIS funding. Think of this as a business proposition, where your business partner says that they plan to introduce radical new changes.
Your customers outright reject the changes and say they will be dangerous and bad. You ask your partner for the books - because they're saying you have to make the changes based on evidence.
Yet there is no transparency - they won't present that evidence to you. What would you do?
We are asking State and Territory disability ministers to say NO to Linda Reynolds on July 9.
What's In The Bill?
The Bill, predictably, says it is based on the compromised Tune Review and will give effect to the participant guarantee and full scale Bill.
It is secret, but here are some of the changes that have been outlined to us - and what we think they mean.
- It says it will introduce more flexibility for participants - but then goes on to outline how it reduces choice and control.
- It says that we will only have to tell our stories once - but goes on to say that they will introduce rules that will allow a review to be conducted any time the NDIA likes.
- It says that they want to make sure they only use evidence based supports - but then outlines the way they plan to narrowly the supports we get and how they are used.
They plan to introduce a raft of punitive changes, including setting out exactly when goods and services can't be purchased with NDIS funding.
They want to introduce the controversial independent assessments, of course, which the entire sector has rejected. And they want to completely remove all reference to reasonable and necessary supports and instead say that we will have 'reasonable and necessary funding packages'.
Other changes include;
- Changes to plan budgeting and 'operational guidance'
- Removing the terms 'trial and transition' from the legislation
- Rule changes around access decisions and plan approval
- Changes to plan administration rules and plan management rules
- New rules about when and how the NDIA can vary a plan
- Rules around when the NDIA will carry out a 'reassessment' of a plan
- Clarifying when a person may be required to acquit their funds
- Defining someone can leave Australia on holiday and use their funding
- The circumstances under which a participant can use a registered plan manager
- Defining psychosocial disability and when and how it may be permanent, episodic and fluctuating
- Defining what substantially reduced functional capacity looks like
- Changes to rules around children and ECEI
- Changes to plan management rules
- Changes to allow the NDIA to pay providers directly and when they can direct participants to use ‘a particular provider or in a particular way’ or, alternatively, for supports not be provided by a certain provider
- Plan budgeting rules to set out how participants will be able to use their funding at a similar level as other people
- Introduction of particular classes of support and types of support
- Specifying excluded 'goods, services and things'
- Defining when goods or services 'are more appropriately considered ordinary purchases'
- Reinforcing recently 'existing legislative decisions about boundaries' (which they say the States and Territories have agreed to)
- SDA changes will be introduced and will clarify matters, 'pursuant to the new approach to planning'
- Independent assessors will be regarded as NDIS providers
- Repealed facilitative rules for the states and territories
- Removal of the Prescribed Programs rules
They say they will enact these amendments through the full scheme Bill and the scheme amendments and that they will send the draft legislation out for public consultation.
But before they do, they want 'in principle agreement' from the State and Territory Ministers.
We must not let that happen.
What Can We Do?
We URGENTLY need disabled people and their families to make their voice heard!
We have eight days - to ring, email, visit, picket every State and Territory Minister in Australia!
Here are their details. Over the coming days, we'll add campaign actions - follow us at #noDisadvantage for ideas!
Senator the Hon Anne Ruston
Commonwealth Minister for Families and Social Services
Minister for Women's Safety
PO Box 6100
Senate
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 260002 6277 7560
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC
Commonwealth Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Minister for Government Services
PO Box 6100
Senate
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 260002 6277 7200
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
The Hon Alister Henskens SC MP
New South Wales
Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services
GPO Box 5341
SYDNEY NSW 200102 8574 6050
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
The Hon Luke Donnellan MP
Victoria
Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers
Minister for Child ProtectionLevel 22, 50 Lonsdale Street
MELBOURNE VIC 300003 9096 0301
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
The Hon Craig Crawford MP
Queensland Minister for Seniors and Disability Services
Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander PartnershipsPO Box 15397
CITY EAST QLD 400207 3008 3700
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
The Hon Don Punch MLA
Western Australia Minister for Disability Services
Minister for Fisheries
Minister for Innovation and ICT
Minister for Seniors and Ageing7th Floor, Dumas House
2 Havelock Street
WEST PERTH WA 600508 6552 6900
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
The Hon Michelle Lensink MLC
South Australia
Minister for Human Services
Parliament House
ADELAIDE SA 500008 8237 9100
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
The Hon Sarah Courtney MP
Tasmania Minister for Education,
Minister for Skills Training and Workforce Growth
Minister for Disability Services
Minister for Children and Youth
Minister for Hospitality and EventsLevel 5,
4 Salamanca Place
HOBART TAS 700003 6165 7794
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
Ms Emma Davidson MLA
Australian Capital Territory Minister for Disability
Assistant Minister for Families and Community Services
Minister for Justice, Health
Minister for Mental Health
GPO Box 1020
Canberra ACT 260102 6205 1941
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
The Hon Kate Worden MLA
Northern Territory Minister for Disabilities
Minister for Territory Families and Urban Housing
Minister for Sport
Minister for Multicultural Affairs
GPO Box 3146
DARWIN NT 080108 8936 5553
[email protected](link sends e-mail)
Here is more information about the Disability Reform Council.
https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/disability-and-carers/programmes-services/government-international/disability-reform-council/disability-reform-council-membership
You can also contact the Premiers directly and voice your views to the Hon Linda Reynolds and the Hon Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia.
We want a REAL NDIS - not #RoboNDIS!