Ensuring the provision of high quality disability services will pose a significant challenge for the Albanese government’s second term.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) cost A$43.9 billion in 2023–24 and is one of the fastest growing pressures on the federal budget.

As the government seeks to moderate growth of the scheme budget, some NDIS participants are finding they are no longer eligible for the scheme.

The problem is, the supports they’re supposed to be able to access instead aren’t yet in place – or don’t exist.

NDIS growth targeted by government while support needed by ineligible people with disability. Credit: Yuri A / Shutterstock

Containing growth​

Concerns have been mounting for some years about the NDIS’s growing budget. In 2024, National Cabinet set a target of moderating annual growth to 8%. If met, the scheme will still grow to $58 billion by 2028.

The previous government attempted to limit its annual growth through legislative changes and a focus on weeding out fraud.

But there have been a number of reports in recent months of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) reassessing eligibility of NDIS participants to determine whether their supports are most appropriately paid for by the scheme.

If individuals are unable to provide evidence within 28 days they may lose their funding. This can be a challenge to get if participants need to see a clinical professional to gather evidence.

One group particularly impacted by eligibility reassessments are children. Some participants report being told they are no longer eligible for NDIS funding and should instead seek supports from other mainstream services such as health or education.

There is currently significant confusion in the disability community about what foundational supports will look like and who will be able to access these.

What is clear is there is significant unmet need for people with disability outside of the scheme and this might lead to a deterioration of functioning among those in this group and potentially burnout of informal carers.

Getting foundational supports right will be a key point of negotiation between federal and state and territory governments if people with disability are to be supported appropriately and the NDIS is to be sustainable.

​

New ministers and ministries​

The new government has moved responsibility for the NDIS from the Department of Social Services into the new Department of Health, Disability and Ageing led by Mark Butler.

While Butler will sit in Cabinet, Jenny McAllister has been appointed to the outer ministry as Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The shift of the NDIS to this portfolio has raised concerns among the disability community that it might not be a priority in an government department that also deals with health and aged care.

There are further concerns this move might medicalise how disability is seen. This would go against the human rights basis of the NDIS, where issues of choice and control are crucial.

​

The ministerial and departmental restructures do present new opportunities to harmonise services for people with disability.

Currently health, disability and aged care are competing to attract similar workforces across allied health, aged care and disability support. A cross-sector approach to workforce planning could be streamlined if it is the responsibility of one department.

Without this, we risk putting more pressure on the NDIS and leaving people with disability not on the NDIS without the supports they need.

The government’s ministerial and departmental restructure will likely further delay the implementation of foundational supports. Given the breadth of responsibilities of the health, disability and aged care portfolio, other policies – and election promises – might take precedence over work on foundational supports.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

[mylittletibbies]

So many people, now on the NDIS,are the ones who, as I stated in my previous post, were happily working in what was called "sheltered workshops" until they were closed down due to government
interference.
Now, instead, these people are on NDIS plans where, instead of working and getting paid, the government pays for them to go to day centres for social activity.
Sure, they weren't earning the basic wage. Most of them couldn't work at a normal basic capacity, but this system worked fine for many long years. They were happy. Many of these people with intellectual disabilities, including my daughter, were absolutely shattered when they didn't have their job anymore.
My daughter commented to me that "people think we are too stupid to have a job like normal people".
And now we have this bloated, out of control NDIS system. How is that working for them???

 

[novezar]

So many people, now on the NDIS,are the ones who, as I stated in my previous post, were happily working in what was called "sheltered workshops" until they were closed down due to government
interference.
Now, instead, these people are on NDIS plans where, instead of working and getting paid, the government pays for them to go to day centres for social activity.
Sure, they weren't earning the basic wage. Most of them couldn't work at a normal basic capacity, but this system worked fine for many long years. They were happy. Many of these people with intellectual disabilities, including my daughter, were absolutely shattered when they didn't have their job anymore.
My daughter commented to me that "people think we are too stupid to have a job like normal people".
And now we have this bloated, out of control NDIS system. How is that working for them???

Hi, mylittletibbies,

I know exactly how you feel.
I have twin sons with a particular disability who were in your daughters situation.
Now nothing. Other than the disability pension.
Absolutely, no doubt, many other families are in the same predicament.

 

[novezar]

What the government has to do, is, as we all know, they have to sort out the rorters, close them down & make them repay all of their "Ill gotten gains" by sheer fraudulent acts by them pretending to be providers.

Bill Shorten couldn't do anything about it, so he pissed off out of government & into a much "Glorified" well paid other employment.

What a complete bloody joke.

As per usual. this NDIS problem will just be cast aside, &, thrown into the "Too Hard Basket or Bin" to worry about.

Everything will just go on as normal & per usual.

 

[mylittletibbies]

Hi, mylittletibbies,

I know exactly how you feel.
I have twin sons with a particular disability who were in your daughters situation.
Now nothing. Other than the disability pension.
Absolutely, no doubt, many other families are in the same predicament.

A young lass who worked with my daughter had worked for Activ for 25 years. She would never take her holidays or even her long service she just loved going to work. They used to have to pay her out for her holidays.
Her mother told me her daughter slumped into a depressive start after she no longer had her job and actually cried every day for weeks.
So sad
A little bit of consultation of the families involved might have been handy. But no! Why would we know better than some damn politicuans???

 

[cblayney]

So many people, now on the NDIS,are the ones who, as I stated in my previous post, were happily working in what was called "sheltered workshops" until they were closed down due to government
interference.
Now, instead, these people are on NDIS plans where, instead of working and getting paid, the government pays for them to go to day centres for social activity.
Sure, they weren't earning the basic wage. Most of them couldn't work at a normal basic capacity, but this system worked fine for many long years. They were happy. Many of these people with intellectual disabilities, including my daughter, were absolutely shattered when they didn't have their job anymore.
My daughter commented to me that "people think we are too stupid to have a job like normal people".
And now we have this bloated, out of control NDIS system. How is that working for them???

Well said. Unfortunately companies who sent goods to small disability services to be processed found it was cheaper to send their goods overseas. The disability services ended up with less work. The gov also changed the workers requirements of hours and abilities meaning that people with less skills found themselves out if work. Gov changes had been going on for years basically ensuring "sheltered workshops" were as productive as any other business. No longer a charity or community service.

 

[mylittletibbies]

Well said. Unfortunately companies who sent goods to small disability services to be processed found it was cheaper to send their goods overseas. The disability services ended up with less work. The gov also changed the workers requirements of hours and abilities meaning that people with less skills found themselves out if work. Gov changes had been going on for years basically ensuring "sheltered workshops" were as productive as any other business. No longer a charity or community service.

In the workshop where my daughter worked they still had plenty of work, the work was only sent overseas after the workshop was closed downThe workers we're always paid on their ability. The first four weeks was used to assess the rate at which they worked.
They run for many long years without government interference, and what have they now achieved.A whole pile of people on unsustainable NDIS plans.
They were better off both from a point of view of the workshop employees and from the fact that they now pay a load of fat cats to be so called providers.
Just for everybody's interest this is the rate for 24 hour care I took off a providers price list. These prices are for rural, not city which is slightly cheaper, though not much.
Weekdays. $2938.32
Saturday. $3755.25
Sunday. $4755.18
Public Hol. $5755.12

My stepdaughter works as a disability support worker. On casual rates she gets $50/hr for an 8 hour shift, three workers to cover a 24 hour shift equates to $1200
so the provider who doesn't actually do any of the caring gets $1738..32 for every week day, more for weekends and public holidays.
And they wonder why the NDIS is going broke.
There are also people classed as the same level as my daughter on plans that are three times higher than my daughter's.
Who actually works out how much each person's plan should be.
I am not complaining about how much my daughter receives. I self manage my daughter's plan and her carer and I negotiated a rate of $500/24 hours, no matter which day.
Her funds last her the whole year. If I was to use an approved NDIS provider it would mean I would need about eight times the amount I now receive for the same amount of care.

 

[Reet]

There are too many people rorting the system so that people who really need the help are not getting it.

 

[Reet]

What the government has to do, is, as we all know, they have to sort out the rorters, close them down & make them repay all of their "Ill gotten gains" by sheer fraudulent acts by them pretending to be providers.

Bill Shorten couldn't do anything about it, so he pissed off out of government & into a much "Glorified" well paid other employment.

What a complete bloody joke.

As per usual. this NDIS problem will just be cast aside, &, thrown into the "Too Hard Basket or Bin" to worry about.

Everything will just go on as normal & per usual.

Bill Shorten, like other ex-politicians also gets a pension from the government although he can work and does in fact work at another job. This is so wrong. They should have to wait for a pension as everyone else does until they actually leave work and if they are assessed at that time they probably would not qualify for the pension as their assets would be too high. The pension for ex-politicians should be for a short time only, and not at all if they are working another job after they leave parliament.

 

[natalielocket]

So many people, now on the NDIS,are the ones who, as I stated in my previous post, were happily working in what was called "sheltered workshops" until they were closed down due to government
interference.
Now, instead, these people are on NDIS plans where, instead of working and getting paid, the government pays for them to go to day centres for social activity.
Sure, they weren't earning the basic wage. Most of them couldn't work at a normal basic capacity, but this system worked fine for many long years. They were happy. Many of these people with intellectual disabilities, including my daughter, were absolutely shattered when they didn't have their job anymore.
My daughter commented to me that "people think we are too stupid to have a job like normal people".
And now we have this bloated, out of control NDIS system. How is that working for them???

So true. The Disabilities Workshops that were around, gave these People a sense of worth. In Kingaroy, (don`t know if it is still going) but a workshop was for them. I may be wrong, but if remembering correctly, they made biscuits for sale. All supervised. And, yes this NDIS system is out of control. A Friend of mine, who finally after having to fight for help with the NDIS, she has MS, was so over paid for any work she needed done, she couldn`t understand the amount of money that was given. This was when NDIS was first introduced. She and her Husband both questioned it. They were flat out trying to spend it on anything she might need in the future. So a new lazy boy was bought, etc, but they were certainly having to look outside the square to use the money up.

 

[mylittletibbies]

My daughter's plan includesd $5000 every year for capital works. I have never used these funds but decided, since moving house, to install a ramp for my daughter as she is very unsteady on her
feet and the stairs weren't very safe.
A retired friend offered to do it for me for $1,000 all up, good price.
I rang the NDIS for approval. But. Oh no, that's not possible, and the rigmarole started.
Firstly they said they would need an OT report saying that the ramp was actually needed. I referred them to the report done 18 months ago. Which stated that Jodi needed handrails and ramps, but my husband did them at our old house at our expense. But no they needed an up to date report. Nothing has changed. She was born with flat feet. She has a plate in one ankle and shattered the other knee cap. The answer was still no, a new report will cost about $1500, the same as last time. Wasted tax payers money.
Then I would have to use an NDIS approved person, in other words rip off
merchant, incur travel expenses from Perth. 3 hours away.
Another person had a ramp done last year. The cost was $1000 for travel, plus $4500 for materials and labour.
Add the OT report and our ramp would be somewhere around $6 ,000.
In disgust I got my friend to do it for $1000 and paid for it myself.
And they wonder why the NDIS is out of control.

 

[Margwhit57]

On top of all this doctors fees have gone up. So much for Labor’s promises.

 

[Ezzy]

So true. The Disabilities Workshops that were around, gave these People a sense of worth. In Kingaroy, (don`t know if it is still going) but a workshop was for them. I may be wrong, but if remembering correctly, they made biscuits for sale. All supervised. And, yes this NDIS system is out of control. A Friend of mine, who finally after having to fight for help with the NDIS, she has MS, was so over paid for any work she needed done, she couldn`t understand the amount of money that was given. This was when NDIS was first introduced. She and her Husband both questioned it. They were flat out trying to spend it on anything she might need in the future. So a new lazy boy was bought, etc, but they were certainly having to look outside the square to use the money up.

My daughter told a similar story of a person she worked for. Fully paid overseas trip with certain staff & family, jewellery as gifts & so the list goes on. This person eventually got too greedy & is now finished & l understand, bankrupt & owing staff 000's of $'s.