Page 4057 - Week 11 - Thursday, 21 September 2017
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more equitable support scheme allowing people with disability in the ACT to have choice and control over how they live their lives. Officials have worked collaboratively with non-government service providers who were already supporting people with disability before they received an NDIS plan to ensure a smooth transition in support.
The latest published figures from the NDIS-COAG Disability Reform Council quarterly report show that to the end of June 2017, 6,047 participant plans have been approved in the ACT since the beginning of the trial in 2014. The report also shows that there are currently 5,878 Canberrans with an active plan. Figures show that in Canberra active participants in the NDIS are more likely either to fully or partially self-manage their NDIS plan than participants in other jurisdictions.
The latest quarterly report on Canberrans who are active participants in the NDIS shows that people with intellectual disability make up 33 per cent of participants. That is the largest single group, followed by 21 per cent of people with autism and 12 per cent of NDIS participants in Canberra with a psychosocial disability.
More Canberrans needing psychosocial support are now getting the support they need. When the NDIS was introduced in the ACT in 2014, approximately 350 Canberrans with a psychosocial disability were supported by ACT government-funded services. Recent data shows that more than twice as many, 717 Canberrans, who identify that their primary support needs relate to psychosocial disability are now getting support through NDIS services. However, we know that the transition has not been easy, or even possible, for some people with psychosocial disability and we continue to work with the commonwealth and across directorates to understand and address the gaps.
While Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community is approximately 1.5 per cent of our population, 4.3 per cent of the total active participants in the NDIS, or 252 people, are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. This higher percentage of NDIS involvement reflects both the high level of disability experienced within our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and the strong outreach work by Gugan Gulwan, Winnunga Nimmityjah and others to help people understand what the NDIS is and to sign up for a plan.
Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about market development. NDIS plans are tailored to meet each participant’s needs and are reviewed annually. The plans and the financial commitment by the commonwealth vary according to each individual’s circumstances and the services they need to purchase. An essential part of establishing more choice and control for people with disability is giving them the financial power to select and choose the services and providers they need.
The flip side of this is ensuring that there is a range of registered providers in relevant fields for people with disability to choose from. This transition to a market for services has been complex but the number of services and registered providers in the market continue to grow. Registered providers with the National Disability Insurance Agency are required to have the appropriate qualifications, experience and capacity for the services they will deliver.
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