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November 2020

AFDO Disability Loop eNews

 

A good way to find out more about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Welcome to Disability Loop eNews. We hope you are keeping well and connected with friends, family, and good support during this time. Here you will find recent news about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and helpful NDIS-related resources either from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) or from other organisations. 
NDIS Reforms - Information Paper

In August, the Minister for the NDIS, Stuart Robert announced significant reforms to the NDIS, including the use of Independent Assessments for new and existing NDIS participants.

Last week, the Minister announced that the legislation to introduce the new Independent Assessments will be delayed. The draft legislation will now be released for consultation, with the legislation expected to be passed by 1st July next year. 

This means that the introduction of Independent Assessments will now be delayed by about six months. 

  • Independent Assessments to access the NDIS will now begin in the middle of 2021
  • Independent Assessments for existing participants will begin at the end of 2021.

The Information Paper is available in PDF, Word, and Easy Read. It explains what the changes are and what they mean for people in the scheme and those applying to join the NDIS. You can read the Minister’s media release here, and here is the link to the Information Paper.

Independent Assessments - Have your say! 
Last week, the NDIA released three consultation papers on how the NDIS reforms will be implemented which you can provide feedback on.

We strongly encourage people with disability, their families and carers, and the wider disability sector to provide feedback on these papers. 

You can have your say on these papers by making a submission in writing, or by audio or video. You have until Tuesday 23rd February 2021 to provide your feedback on these papers.

The Consultation papers have questions that you can respond to. You can answer all of the questions in each consultation paper, or just a few of the questions. You will find more information on how to make a submission on the NDIS website

The consultation papers include:
  1. Access and eligibility policy for Independent Asessments
  • The NDIA is interested in hearing your views on:
    • How independent assessments will be used to help determine eligibility for the NDIS
    • When people might be exempted from completing an independent assessment
    • What information people applying to access the NDIS will have to provide as part of the access process
    • How we will remove the access lists used during the transition to the NDIS
    • The process for eligibility reassessments
  1. Planning policy for personalised budgets and plan flexibility
  • The NDIA is interested in hearing your views on:
    • How independent assessments will be used to help determine a participant’s NDIS budget
    • How participants will have more flexibility in their NDIS budgets
    • Where funding will be ‘fixed’ (not flexible)
    • Plan implementation
    • Making changes to NDIS plans and check-ins
  1. Papers 3 and 4 cover the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) Implementation Reset project. There is a Project Report on the ECEI Reset project and a paper on the Proposed changes to how the NDIS supports young children and their families
  • The NDIA is interested in hearing your views on:
    • The age group best suited to receive early childhood services and whether this should be changed from under seven years of age, to under nine years
    • How independent assessments will be used to determine eligibility and budgets for participants over 12 months of age
    • Short Term Early Intervention (STEI), which is the early support that is offered whether or not a child is eligible for the NDIS
    • Planning and implementation of best practice supports
    • Support for young children and families to transition to the next stage of their lives, if they are no longer eligible for the NDIS.
The NDIA also released an appendix to the Independent Assessment Tools paper, outlining the assessment tools they will be using for young children aged one to six, and the process the Agency undertook to evaluate and determine the most appropriate tools.
Participant Engagement Panel - Request for Tender

The NDIS is establishing a panel to listen and understand more from people with disabilities in harder-to-reach communities. 

Organisations on this panel will support the NDIA to hear directly from people with disability (incuding their families and carers), with a focus on harder-to-reach commumities. These include people with intellectual disability, cognitive disabilities, people housed in group or hospital settings,  people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities .

Engagement activities could include things like one-on-one interviews and focus groups. 

Organisations with experience and understanding of the disability sector, including harder to reach communities, are invited to lodge a Tender response for the Participant Engagement Panel.

Information and advice on the tender application process is available on the AusTender website.

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