10386 – Individual submission

There is not enough consistency for people who self-manage their NDIS package whether it be fully self-managed or partially self-managed. Some NDIS participants I have spoken to who are self-managing their NDIS package have more flexibility and are being funded for things that other NDIS participants who are not self-managed are funded for. Self-Managed and Plan-Managed are meant to be the most flexible option for people to choose how they manage their NDIS plan. One person I spoke to who is fully self-managing her NDIS plan went to Melbourne and had her cost paid for to attend a workshop/conference/an event and the NDIS paid all her cost to go to Melbourne she mentioned that if she wasn’t busy and booked to go to New Zealand to attend an event the NDIS would pay for her to go to New Zealand, A participant in Queensland who is a self advocate from the Queensland Disability Network said that he has been advised that the NDIS will pay for the cost of food that is bought at the conference. How can one participant have their cost covered to go to Melbourne, New Zealand or anywhere else and one participant in Queensland have their food paid for by the NDIS? when anyone else in other states and territories are advised that the NDIS will not pay for food as it is an everyday cost and will only pay for any supports participants may need to attend events in Melbourne, New Zealand or anywhere else? Participants are advised that the NDIS will fund any supports required for example if a person requires personal care, a mobility aid or a wheelchair to get to where they are going for example Melbourne and while they are there. participants are advised that the NDIS will not pay for the NDIS participant to physically attend an event/workshop in Melbourne, anywhere else around Australia or New Zealand. Yet under the state system ADHC funded both the cost for people with a disability and the support worker. The NDIS has not really liaised and consulted with ADHC (Department of Family and Community Services)to find out what people with disabilities were funded for under the state system. I think the NDIA assumed that ADHC only funded day programmes, communication devices, personal care, therapy, transport, assistive technology, consumables and mobility aids. I don’t think the staff at the NDIA didn’t realise that ADHC funded a lot more. I don’t think the NDIA realised that ADHC funded education, conferences, respite as well as other areas. The NDIS needs to start matching what ADHC funded not only what the NDIS currently funds. Since participants have transferred to the NDIS there have been more gaps between mainstream services and the NDIS all due to the change from a state system to a federal system that is funded nationally across Australia. The NDIA think that people with disabilities can pay for their cost out of their own pocket and only need the funding for a support worker when people with disabilities don’t have the money to pay for things out of their own pocket and need the money in the plan to pay for the people with disabilities themselves as well as any support that people with disabilities may need or require. There really is a lot that needs to be changed with the Review of the NDIS Act and NDIS Rules 2013 for people with disabilities to have a more positive experience with the NDIS there are so many people who feel worse off and disadvantaged under the NDIS due to changes and the flexibility that people had before the NDIS has reduced a lot giving them limited options and choices or giving them no options and no choices to choose from. Without changes it will continue to get worse, and worse and worse and worse. Participants will continue to send money back to the NDIA and the NDIS will continue to be underspent each year. The NDIA are spending more money on legal fees as participants are having to fight for what they want in their NDIS plan instead of focusing on what is important to the participants and what participants want funded in their plan. All NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators are getting plans wrong this is leading to participants applying for reviews and appeals all because the goals that participants mention at their planning meeting is not being complied with and the statement of participants supports in a participants support plan is not being complied with leaving participants with no option other than to send the money back to the NDIA because the NDIS will not fund what participants want. Participants should not have to fight to get what they need funded in their NDIS plans and to get their goals supported.