Page 1407 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 April 2013
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ACT, we have agreed to the NDIS launch from July 2014. The ACT is the only jurisdiction where the NDIS launch covers the whole jurisdiction. This means reform of the whole of the ACT support services sector. The commonwealth and ACT governments will work together to build and strengthen the capacity of people with disability, the community sector and the community generally to prepare for the NDIS.
In preparation for the NDIS launch in the ACT, $7.8 million will be allocated through grants directly to people with a disability, including those with psychosocial disability. People will have two opportunities to apply for a grant through the enhanced service offer. The first round will be in July 2013 and the second in about September 2013.
To assist people to prepare for the national reform, applicants will be encouraged to think about their whole-of-life goals, and the supports and services, both formal and informal, that they will need to achieve those. Applicants will be supported to think differently about how they might use or manage the resources that are available to them to achieve those goals.
The enhanced service offer will give people a tangible opportunity to experience control and choice with a small allocation of funds. The enhanced service offer is not intended to respond to all unmet need in the ACT. It is, however, expected to reach a very large number of people with diverse needs and provide them with additional resources to step towards a good life prior to their transition to the NDIS. Families will have a choice in the services they access, and in future their choices will drive the development of therapy and intervention services in the ACT, including private sector and non-government services.
I find it incredible that in this debate this morning the opposition has described the NDIS as a cop-out. I will just quote from the NDIS documents:
The Prime Minister released the Productivity Commission’s report on 10 August 2011 and all governments agreed with the recommendation to establish a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
An NDIS will turn the way we currently provide disability services on its head. Rather than funding based on historical budget allocations, a funding pool will be based on actuarial assessment of need.
It will recognise that disability is for a lifetime, and so it will take a lifelong approach to providing care and support. This means that assessment will look beyond the immediate need, and across the course of a person’s life. For example, home modifications might be expensive up front, but if they afford a person with significant disability the opportunity of greater independence, or if they mean that a parent carer can continue to care for their loved one, it’s a good investment.
Taking a lifelong approach also means focusing on intensive early intervention, particularly for people where there is good evidence that it will substantially improve functioning or delay or lesson a decline in functioning.
Importantly, an NDIS will support choice for people with disability, their families and carers, and put people in control of the care and support they receive, based on need. Of course, there will also be safeguards in place to
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