‘No delay’ in NDIS rollout but ‘pace of acceleration’ will slow, chairman says
|
Version 0 of 1. The chairman of the board of the National Disability Insurance Agency says there will be no delay in the rollout of the support scheme, but conceded the speed of delivery over the next three years was still uncertain. At an address in the National Press Club on Wednesday, Bruce Bonyhady AM said the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which will deliver support for people with disabilities across the country, would be accessible to 400,000 in the next three years. “I just want to make one point very clear. We’re are not talking about delay of this scheme. We are not talking about a slower rollout. What we’re talking about is how quickly the pace can accelerate, and it’s a very important distinction,” he said. “What we are looking at is what is the best way to get those 400,000 into the scheme.” “There are aspects of the scheme that we think we can bring forward such as the investment of housing … but the other aspects of the scheme is really going to depend on how quickly the market develops.” Bonyhady said the scheme currently allowed about 30,000 people to access the system, and the speed of the rollout would continue to increase. He added that under any timetable, there would still be some people who would not be eligible to gain all the support they needed immediately, but the rollout “will need to be as fair as possible”. He told the press club the early results of the scheme were encouraging and in line with the Productivity Commission’s report which estimated that the NDIS would add 1% to GDP and stabilise government spending on disability. Following the speech, Damian Griffis, the executive director of the First Peoples Disability Network, said he was disappointed the talk did not address the rollout’s application to Indigenous Australians. “There wasn’t mention at all of Aboriginal people with disabilities. That concerns us greatly. It’s absolutely critical that Aboriginal people with disabilities and their families be included from the outset,“ he said. “We’re very concerned about that. There are very high rates of disability in the community, and work needs to begin right now.” |