News | 21 December 2015

2016 To Do List: Making the NDIS the best it can be

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NDIS 2016: to do list

2015 has been a huge year for the NDIS. A new report looks at the year in review and what needs to be done in 2016.

The NDIS will transform the lives of people with disability, giving them the power to choose the supports they need to live the life they want.

It will also transform communities, helping people with disability realise their dreams of jobs, independent living and a place in their local community.

With just six months to go until the start of the scheduled rollout, people in Tasmania, South Australia, NSW, Victoria and the ACT now know when the NDIS is coming to them.

We’re still waiting for governments in the other states to sign agreements with the Commonwealth for the full roll out.

And like any change of this size, the road ahead will always be challenging.

A new State of the Disability Sector Report 2015 by National Disability Services (NDS) looks at the state of the sector, highlights the risk and, importantly, outlines the opportunities the NDIS presents.

It highlights concerns from disability providers about workforce shortages, lack of suitable housing for people with disability and making sure the jobs are there for people who want the NDIS to help them reach their work goals.

Disability groups were also divided about whether the roll out is happening too fast, or too slow and providers who believe there isn’t enough government support to help them gear up for the huge changes ahead.

So what does that mean for 2016?

The report sets out 20 things NDS would like to see accomplished in 2016.

Here’s 10 of them.

  1. The release of full roll out plans for all states.
  2. Enough funding to make sure the NDIS is designed as well as it can be.
  3. A focus on supports for providers to protect people with disability.
  4. Funding to stimulate investment in specialist disability housing and regulations that increase the supply of accessible housing.
  5. A national employment framework that provides more employment choices for people with disability and invests in career development
  6. A national action plan that requires every area of government to promote the rights of people with disability and report back on their progress.
  7. Schools with enough resources for children with disability.
  8. Better access to specialist disability services and assistive technology for older Australians with disability.
  9. A new Award, financial benchmarking and fair pricing scheme.
  10. A national recruitment campaign to ensure there are enough support workers to meet the needs of people with disability under the NDIS.

Jobs, housing, high quality supports and protection for people with disability – they’re the same concerns EAC supporters share.

“People with disability, their families and carers, and everyone in this sector; we are all in this together, learning and sharing and changing things for the better. Campaign Director John Della Bosca says.

“This is just the beginning of the journey, not the destination. The first challenge was to get the NDIS, the next challenge is to deliver it together”.

Bring on 2016 and lets make the NDIS the best it can be!

The full NDS State of the Disability Sector report – 2015 can be read at http://disabilitysectorreport.nds.org.au/#page/62

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