Anonymous – 24/09/2021

No, the rules place a requirement on the potential participant in which they may not be able to access the needed supports to satisfy this rule.

In specifics, the requirement to have accessed appropriate treatment creates a hurdle in which socially disadvantaged applicants will not be able to overcome.

The current medical system does not provide supports for some conditions, such as Autism, ADHD and similar neurological disorders, and the current medical system does not fund any kind of treatment or support for these conditions. This creates a hurdle where disadvantaged applicants would need to pay for private medical care in order to meet the requirements of this rule, creating undue strain and eliminating many from being able to access these supports.

Current advice from the NDIA in regards to these patients has been an indirect instruction for those patients to defraud the medical system and access care under a “mental health plan” which does not allow for treatment of these conditions. To “handball” the clients back to a medical system that does not have the ability to provide the services is not only negligent, but creates a wealth gap, locking poor and disadvantaged clients out of the NDIS by putting undue focus on accessing services that in reality, they would need funding through the NDIS to recieve.

This rule set in and of itself is flawed and will cause genuinely eligible clients to be locked out of receiving supports, it should not be permitted to proceed, and it’s inclusion will create legal and social disruption on the NDIA, Government. Health Systems and the Paricipants themselves.

No, the requirement of the client to have already accessed and used assistive technology is another financial hurdle that participants cannot reasonably have reached themselves, and as mentioned in my earlier paragraph, will create a wealth gap in accessing the NDIS. Hospitals and the current health system does not provide access to these supports.

A large portion of people applying to the NDIS are doing so to ACCESS these supports and cannot reasonably access them themselves, to create this rule essentially guts the whole purpose of the NDIS.

The addition of this rule not only creates an unfair hurdle for participants, it also eliminates a large number of potential support needing participants, leaving them without care or support. This will result in major legal challenges, and the potential for a class action lawsuit against the government on grounds of discrimination.

These rules are abhorrent, and should never be implemented, the nit picking in deciding how disabled a person is, the creation of unattainable financial hurdles and the discriminatory self elimination of potential applicants is inhumane.

You have been gutting and attempting to destroy this program since its inception, and it’s disgusting to see how far you’ll go to get rid of the burden of caring for genuinely disabled people in need.

As a participant who has been told by NDIS staff that “I don’t look disabled”, as someone with an affected neurological disorder who has had to fight to even get the basic supports to live, I’m disgusted in the government and it’s attitude towards this program, the NDIA staff who treat peoples disabilities as unimportant and just another line on the ledger, the constant hand balling and “not my job” responses that leave those in genuine need without supports.

This constant discriminatory behaviour needs to end, and if you don’t take action and strike these changes down, We will take action, legally.