ACOSS is calling on the Federal Government to work in genuine open partnership with Disability Representative Organisations (DROs) in designing any changes to the NDIS, including implementation plans, as the community reels from the prospect that around 160,000 people could be excluded from the scheme.
Health Minister Mark Butler on Wednesday announced a raft of changes to the NDIS including real-terms budget cuts and tighter eligibility requirements.
As the DROs stated, "any decisions that determine who gets support and who doesn't must be built with the people most affected. Co-design and genuine engagement with the disability community – people with disability, their families, carers and advocates – is not a formality, it is the only way this can work. People with disability are the experts in their own lives and must lead the design of solutions".
"The NDIS is a vital social program that has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Reforms must be done with the disability community, not to them," said ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie.
ACOSS says the announcements have caused distress for people with disability. "In the middle of a cost of living crisis, hundreds of thousands of people are being left unsure whether the support they rely on to lead a dignified life will still be there for them," said Dr Goldie.
"The community is reeling. Up to 160,000 people are facing the prospect of losing support, with little clarity about where they will go or what will replace it. That uncertainty is causing serious anxiety and distress, and the Government must move urgently to address."
ACOSS has serious concerns about how the new eligibility threshold will be set. "Any threshold must be developed transparently, with the disability community, and with clear answers about what genuine alternatives will exist for those who no longer qualify," Dr Goldie said.
