Disability advocates are urging the government to reconsider changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, ahead of a looming parliamentary vote on the proposed reforms. Aimed at cracking down on fraud and spending, the Federal Government's proposed reforms will slash NDIS spending and participation, which advocates warn could have significant consequences.
The federal Government is seeking to pass changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the next fortnight.
Intended to rein in spending growth, the cuts will remove around 160,000 participants from the scheme and slash around $37.8 billion from the program over four years.
According to NDIS Minister Mark Butler, the changes are needed to keep the NDIS economically sustainable.
"Every week that we wait, or every week that other parties delay consideration of this legislation in the Senate, is another week where we see more money not going to participants on the NDIS and instead going off into fraud or other sharp practice. So we have to pass this legislation to get the NDIS back on track to clear up some of the eligibility rules to fight the fraud and the integrity issues that we know are there in the scheme and to put this thing back on track and secure it for the long term."
With findings from a Senate Inquiry into the reforms set to be handed down on Friday, advocates are calling for urgent amendments.
Martin Laverty, the chief executive of disability support provider Aruma, was one of the architects of the NDIS.
Speaking at the National Press Club, he says the scheme needs a national inspector general, similar to that of Australia's aged care sector.
"To be able to point out those systems flaws, to recommend to government where improvements are required, and as we go through this reform agenda, to steward a system that has been in deep need of earlier attention. In the event that government is willing to amend the legislation before the parliament to ensure it can better meet the concerns that have been put here today, the opportunity exists to finally address the cost blowout of the NDIS. Failure to do so will simply mean we stand still."
Speaking to ABC Radio, Mark Butler says he's not convinced that would help.
"There are a lot of different committees and bodies that oversight the NDIS. So I'd have to be convinced that another one, another level of bureaucracy, would serve a real purpose. That's unlike aged care, which doesn't have quite the same number of statutory safeguards that the NDIS has."
Advocates are also warning the cuts could push thousands of women into crisis, making it more difficult for women experiencing violence to access support.
Women With Disabilities Australia head Sophie Cusworth has told the National Press Club the cuts don't properly consider the impacts on women.
"This bill would allow the agency to suspend a person's supports if they aren't contactable, without properly considering risk or safety. But a woman experiencing violence might be unreachable because she's changed phones, or fled her home, or entered safe accommodation as part of a safety plan. Cutting off her supports could remove what she needs to stay safe. Let's consider the power to cut support for social and community participation by 50 per cent. The government says this won't affect participants' health and safety, but for women with disability, that simply isn't true. More than half have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15."
As well as concerns around violence, Sophie Cusworth says the changes will also have profound impacts on the care industry, of which women make up a large majority.
"We also know that the bill will increase unpaid care and push more women out of the labour market. Women with disability already earn less than men, in large part because women provide the majority of unpaid care in this country, and over 40 per cent of primary carers are people with disability themselves. We talk a lot about the costs of the NDIS, but not what that cost enables, what it offsets, and the costs of unpaid care that so often fills the gaps."
The proposed changes are yet to be legislated, with the federal government needing support in the Senate to pass the measures.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor says the Coalition is willing to work with Labor on reforming the program.
"We want to work with Labor to make sure that the NDIS is sustainable, and right now it's not sustainable. It's a very important program, but it also needs to be sustainable and needs to be part of a budget that's not driving up spending and driving up inflation and interest rates."
Martin Laverty says the reform proposals are not the first time a government has attempted to fix problems with the NDIS.
But, he says that without serious amendments, they will fail again.
"The third attempt is before the Parliament this week. A Senate inquiry will report Friday. It will and should propose amendments to the bill to make it better, because this legislation has a lot to dislike. [...] There is room for improvement in the bill that is coming before the Parliament, and I urge the government to act on those and other areas. areas. But at the same time, we acknowledge the necessity that if we want an NDIS into the future, it's far better to have an empathetic government amend it today than a very uncertain government in years ahead."
