Page 1171 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 2 April 2019
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There are many reasons why organisations would potentially face uncertainty in relation to both their own business model and the experience of their clients and consumers around their interface with the NDIS, but the experience of people with psychosocial disabilities is certainly an issue of ongoing concern to the ACTÂ government, as is the flow-on effect that has, particularly to community sector providers of mental health services in our community.
We were, of course, very pleased to see the recent announcement about increased pricing in some aspects, particularly around increased support in areas that involve people with complex needs. We have been advocating for increased pricing as well, recognising the flow-on effects to providers of some of the shortcomings that we have seen in the transitional arrangements for the national disability insurance scheme.
MS LEE: Minister, why do one-third of mental health service providers not have funding certainty beyond the next year?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: To the extent that the issues that Ms Lee raises relate to funding certainty from the National Disability Insurance Agency, they are indeed the responsibility of the National Disability Insurance Agency, which is a commonwealth government agency. While I cannot speak to the individual matters relating to each of those individual organisations, I can say that we have been advocating very strongly over the past two years for improved outcomes and pathways for people with psychosocial disability in the NDIS. We have consistently raised concerns around the pathways for people with psychosocial disability in the NDIS, including the lack of specific awareness of NDIS staff and planners around the needs of people with psychosocial disability, around some of the plans that people were seeing that did not support a recovery framework, which is generally more appropriate in the mental health space.
We certainly share the concerns that Ms Lee is raising around the impact of these issues in psychosocial disability, on both participants in the scheme who have a psychosocial disability and the providers that support those people, whether in residential or in community services.
MRS JONES: Minister, do you know why many people in Canberra with mental health issues were being supported under the old model but are not now being supported under the new model?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: One thing we do know, and I do not have the exact numbers in front of me, is that under the national disability insurance scheme there is a significantly higher number of people with psychosocial disability who are receiving support now than were receiving support prior to the rollout of the national disability insurance scheme. What we have seen, and what we have been advocating about, are two main issues: people with psychosocial disability who have significant complex needs who find it very difficult to engage in the system; and the support that they need to engage with the NDIS to receive the plans that they need to support their complex needs and then the support in the community.
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