{"id":12427,"date":"2021-08-09T02:19:02","date_gmt":"2021-08-09T02:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=12427"},"modified":"2021-08-09T02:19:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-09T02:19:02","slug":"ndis-now-supporting-466000-australians-and-their-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/08\/09\/ndis-now-supporting-466000-australians-and-their-families\/","title":{"rendered":"NDIS now supporting 466,000 Australians and their families"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) quarterly report shows the world first scheme is continuing to grow at a record rate.
\nMinister for the NDIS Minister Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said today\u2019s report shows we have much to celebrate as a nation.
\n\u201cIt is an extraordinary achievement for the NDIS to now be supporting 466,000 Australians \u2013 with almost a quarter of a million people receiving support for the very first time,\u201d Minister Reynolds said.
\n\u201cSince becoming Minister for the NDIS, I have heard very clearly in my consultations with the disability sector and with colleagues that they want greater data to better understand the problems facing the Scheme and to be part of developing solutions.
\n\u201cWe can\u2019t shy away from the Scheme\u2019s challenges and the need to keep improving participant experience. Issues identified in this report include inconsistent access and planning decisions and inequalities in packages based on socio-economic status.
\n\u201cIn an insurance scheme, where you live or your socioeconomic circumstances should not matter.
\n\u201cAnother issue addressed in significant detail is the reporting of apparent systematic decreases in functional ability for participants.
\n\u201cThis important report contains the most detailed data on the NDIS publicly released on Scheme costs and assumptions.
\n\u201cIt shows that without mitigation, projected costs are higher than both the 2021 Portfolio Budget Statements and the 2017 Productivity Commission projections.
\n\u201cThe average payment per participant has continued to increase at 11.8 per cent per annum in the three years to 30 June 2021.
\n\u201cTotal participant costs increased to $6.6 billion in the last quarter of 2020-21 – a 33 per cent increase in total participant costs from the same period last year.
\n\u201cIn July 2021, I publicly released the NDIA Board Annual Financial Sustainability Report Summary (AFSR). This provided significant detail on the pressures now facing the Scheme.
\n\u201cToday’s report goes even further. It provides the AFSR projections from 2018 onwards across every measure – total participant numbers, total participant costs and average payments and actual and assumed rates of inflation, compared to actual and estimated Scheme costs. Never before have we had such a clear picture of the true state of play.
\n\u201cA key outcome of the July Disability Minister\u2019s Meeting was a collective agreement to better understand these challenges. I shared this report with Ministers on Friday in preparation for the next Disability Reform Ministers Meeting.
\n\u201cAs a Scheme of our Federation, Australian Governments have responsibility to make sure that the Scheme remains affordable over the long-term and continually improves participant experience and outcomes,\u201d Minister Reynolds said.
\nOther key statistics from the quarter include:<\/p>\n