QAI and QIDAN (the Queensland Independent Disability Advocacy Network) made a joint submission to the Department of Social Servicest regarding the draft list of NDIS Supports.
The list of items participants cannot use their funding for is overly prescriptive, will create confusion, is inconsistent and in many cases fails to understand the complexity of disability and the potential for cost saving flexibility for participants. There is a real risk this prescriptive approach will stifle innovative programs and practices which can genuinely support participants to achieve their goals. This may even cause unintended consequences like the NDIA suspecting that participants are misusing their funds and consequently changing the management of their plans to NDIS managed with the intent of preventing further misuse.
The list also confuses things a participant can and cannot use their NDIS funding for and the things which would be the responsibility of another service system. These are two different concepts. However, this list mixes it all up together and will be extremely confusing for participants, providers and the NDIA employees themselves. Participants continue to be stuck between service systems arguing about who is most appropriate to provide a support.
Our recommendations:
- For supports which should be funded by other service systems there should be no current changes to Schedule 1 in the current Support for Participant Rules until they have been properly negotiated between states and territories.
- All items, services and therapies which may have a disability purpose or could be narrowly construed to limit genuine and innovative community participation programs should be removed (see our table at Annexure A for some examples) leaving only the most obvious items. For example alcohol, passports, cruises, gambling, weddings, funeral costs, legal costs, child support fees, donations and council rates.
- The text at 5.2(b) in the existing Rules should be included (or not removed) to ensure that items required which are ancillary to a NDIS support can be funded.
- The NDIA provide better and consistent training to its employees, plan managers and support coordinators about the reasonable and necessary criteria.
- Accessible information is available to participants on how to spend their NDIS funds.
Read our full submission here: