The Plan

Key Features of an NDIS

Eligibility

  • Principal beneficiaries would be people with profound and severe disabilities (in Australia, approximately 700,000 people) who need assistance with daily living tasks (self care, communication and mobility) while people with more moderate disabilities could also be eligible for some assistance based on their lesser needs.
  • People with permanent disabilities acquired before age 65 would be eligible for life, without reference to cause and treated equally based on needs.
  • People born with a disability or who acquire a permanent disability through an accident, injury or as a result of a medical condition, including mental illness, would be eligible.
  • No fault; the provision of support and care for people with disabilities would be separated from legal action for negligence/culpable behaviour.

Benefits for people with disabilities

  • Care, support, therapy, access (although not income support or housing), based on functional impairment.
  • Person-centred services and support based on the needs and choices of each person with a disability and their family.
  • Case management to facilitate independence, maximise potential and plan transitions over the life course, when required.
  • Early intervention a top priority.
  • Aids, equipment and home modification needs met on a timely basis.
  • Training, development and access to work to build self-esteem and reduce long term costs.
  • New competitive market place for service provision likely to develop, helping to drive efficiency and innovation.

Benefits for families/carers

  • Families expected to fulfill normal age-appropriate caring roles.
  • Tailored support for carers, through respite, information, counselling, training and education based on family structure and disability.
  • Families able to choose to work or provide informal care, as for families without disabled members.
  • Part-time work and labour force engagement facilitated.

Governance and scheme management

  • Pooling of individual risks.
  • Mix of Commonwealth and state schemes (including catastrophic injury schemes) with Commonwealth coordination to ensure a consistent national framework.
  • Coordinated approach to funding, including Commonwealth, states and territories
  • National standards of assessment, care, support and case management
  • Governance framework to manage scheme assets, liabilities and data collections to optimise scheme performance and monitor usage.
  • Active claims management.
  • Independent review/appeals process.

Other Features

  • Better coordination with aged care, health, education, housing and other sectors.

Research into best practice and prevention strategies to drive effectiveness, efficiency and to reduce long term costs, as happens now, for example, with the Victorian Transport Accident Commission.

Back to The Plan

The Economic, Social and Inter-generational Arguments for an NDIS

References