NDIS Submission: Inquiry into Independent Assessments Under the NDIS

This afternoon OTA lodged its submission to the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s Inquiry into independent assessments under the NDIS.

This marks the latest move in our ongoing campaign against Independent Assessments as currently proposed by the Commonwealth Government and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).

Parliamentary process is such that our submission has now become the property of the Committee and we are not at liberty to publish it until the Committee formally accepts it and posts it on its website.

As soon as we are able, OTA will post it on our website as well.

We can report, however, that we address all of the Committee’s terms of reference, as well as outlining the background of the issue–including the failure of the NDIA to meaningfully consult with stakeholders.

Our clinical objections to IAs reflect those detailed in our two submissions to the NDIA, which can be found here:

• Consultation Paper: Access and Eligibility Policy with Independent Assessments
• Consultation Paper: Planning Policy for Personalised Budgets and Plan Flexibility

We also raised our grave concerns around recent media reports that suggest:

• IAs are part of a broader assault on the individualised nature of the NDIS, and its core purpose of tailoring reasonable and necessary supports to the particular needs of participants;
• The tender process for the delivery of IAs is highly questionable, and sends a terrible message to Australians with disability, their carers and service providers; and
• The Tune Review of the NDIS was not as independent as some would have us believe.

We await with interest the deliberations of the Joint Standing Committee, which will have likely received hundreds of submissions from concerned stakeholders.

We will also be contacting members of both houses of the Australian Parliament, urging them to vote against any legislation which attacks the rights of people with disability or which aims to cut costs by restricting access to the NDIS and/or stripping it of its original purpose – enriching the lives of participants.

We encourage OTA members to approach their own representative in the Australian parliament, and urge them to vote against any such legislation. You can find out which electorate you live in here: https://electorate.aec.gov.au/

OTA takes this opportunity to thank the members of our NDIS Taskforce for their advice and support over the past seven months.

We also thank those of you who took the time to make your own submissions to the Joint Standing Committee.