10389 – Individual submission

NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators must contact participants and let them know when their plan is approved a lot of the time when participant plans are approved there is no call from the NDIA planner and Local Area Coordinator to let participants know their plan is approved. The NDIA planner and Local Area Coordinator do not go through the plan with participants to make sure participants are happy with their NDIS plan. The NDIS does not work well with mainstream services this includes education, employment, housing, transport, justice system, hospitals and health the connection and intersection between the NDIS and mainstream services is very big and there are a lot of gaps between the NDIS and mainstream services as there is no clarity on who is accountable and responsible. Participants are sent from one to another the department of education and training, department of industry, state and commonwealth governments are meant to fund education instead the departments say it is the state governments responsibility to fund education, the state says it is the commonwealth government that is responsibility to fund education, the commonwealth government says it is the responsibility for the department of education and training and the department of industry to fund education, the department of education and training and the department of industry say the NDIS is responsible for funding education. Participants are passed from one department to another, to another, to commonwealth government to state government to NDIS and participants continue to be passed from one to another, to another, to another, to another and to another as no one wants to take responsibility and be accountable for funding education. Instead this is leaving big gaps between the intersections of mainstream services and the NDIS as the NDIS does not know how to have a good connection, a good partnership, a mutual relationship and an agreement with each of the mainstream services. Unless Changes are made there will continue to be gaps, the gaps will get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, people with disabilities will continue to have no voice, choice, control and flexibility to choose what they use their NDIS funding for, people with disabilities will continue to not be able to move funding around from one to another if they run out of money in one category, the options will not be broader and people with disabilities will continue to send money back to the NDIA each year and then the money in plans are reduced because participants could not use all the money in their NDIS plans. Participants are not going to be able to use all their money in their NDIS plans without broader choices to choose from and have greater flexibility with what they use their NDIS funding for. People with disabilities were told that no one would be worse off or disadvantaged under the NDIS and if you are currently state funded you will be able to use your NDIS funding for what you use your existing funding for now. That means that you will have the same flexibility as what you have under the state system not go from a state system that is flexible, fair and give you all the choices, Options and flexibility you need and do what you want to do that interest you to a federal system that gives you no flexibility, no choice, no control and have limited or no options to choose from. It is not the participants problem that they can’t use all their money in their NDIS plans every year and have to send the money back to the NDIA and when their plan is due to be reviewed depending on how long it is valid for that the money is reduced. It is the NDIA’s problem that participants are not using all the money in their NDIS plans because the NDIS will not fund what participants ask for and the NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators do not listen to participants and fund what participants ask for in their NDIS plan, relevant questions are not asked such as are you currently receiving a funding package through ADHC? What are you funded for and what does your funding pay for? Does this pay for you and any support you require or only for any support you may require or need?
Unless there are changes and the NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators start listening to participants more, showing participants they are valued, respect what participants say, show participants they are being heard and ensure participants you have heard what they say NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators will continue to get plans wrong this includes participants goals not being supported, for some it will be the amount of money and other things this will continue to lead to participants apply for reviews including internal review, review of a reviewable decision and appealing at the administrative appeals tribunal to appeal the decision made by the NDIA to get decisions overturned all because plans are wrong and NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators cannot get plans right. NDIA Planners and Local Area Coordinators do not involve participants in all decision making processes from the beginning, there is no draft plan for participants to view and see before the final plan is submitted to make sure everything is correct and there are no mistakes, miss interpretations, miss communications and miss understandings. When a participant applies for a review NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators do not ask each participant what their opinion is and come to an agreement that both participants and NDIA planners and Local Area Coordinators can agree on the decision is made without anything written to say why the NDIA planner has made this decision and then participants have to take the next step and go further to appeal the decision the NDIA has made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Participants should only have to get one agreement from the AAT per matter not a new agreement year, after year, after year, after year to get the same matter funded whether it is assistive technology, conferences or anything else. People with disabilities will continue not to be able to live an ordinary life, have a quality of life and participate in the community like everyone else if things stay the same as it is now and changes are not made. Many NDIS participants I have spoken to who have received legal advice from solicitors and the AAT has approved for that activity/item/matter to be funded and the documentation has been provided to the NDIA by the participant showing the agreement and uploaded onto the participants file the NDIA responds to the participant by saying “the NDIS will not fund your cost to attend conferences the NDIS will fund for a support worker or a carer to go to the conference with you”. The participant says “the AAT has approved for my conferences to be funded”. The NDIA says “The NDIS will not fund your conferences even with though the AAT has approved for your conferences to be funded and you have been given the approval from the AAT”.