News 25 November 2020

Is this the end of planning in the NDIS?

Today the National Disability Insurance Agency released a mountain of paper about the planned introduction of compulsory assessments to the NDIS.

And tucked away amongst all those pages was some extraordinary news about the future of planning in the NDIS.

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News 23 November 2020

New Coronavirus rules for Victoria

Victoria has the highest numbers of COVID19 infections in Australia. We are collecting all the latest news, info and resources for people with disability and families as it comes out so you don’t have to go hunting. (We have done our best to try and explain what it all means which has NOT been easy…)

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News 18 November 2020

Keeping the NDIS on track

The NDIS Quarterly Reports have always had lots of interesting data on how the scheme is tracking. They allow people with disability, their families, organisations, even governments (shock horror) to get a better idea of where the scheme is working well – and where it is not.

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News 18 November 2020

Coronavirus changes in South Australia

South Australia has gone into 6-day a “hard lockdown” starting on Thursday November 19. We’ve popped all the info people with disability and families need to know right here – and we will keep updating as new info comes out.

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Opinion 5 November 2020

Choice and control, advocacy and relationships – keys to addressing abuse and neglect

This year we learned of the horrific and tragic death of Ann Marie Smith. Her death prompted a police investigation (which is still ongoing), the creation of a taskforce in South Australia and a review into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission by the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS.

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News 30 October 2020

More questions than answers – NDIA and NDIS Commission grilled at Senate Estimates

Budget estimates time. For political nerds it’s a little bit of heaven. Full scrutiny of government with a little bit of argy-bargy or Oscar-worthy theatrics thrown in for comic relief.

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News 29 October 2020

Putting NDIS assessments to the test

More information about the introduction of compulsory assessments for all new and existing NDIS participants has been released over the last few weeks.

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News 8 October 2020

So what did the Federal Budget reveal about the NDIS?

In the middle of a global pandemic and with the country facing the worst economic crisis in more than a generation, the NDIS was never going to be a headline feature of this year’s Federal Budget.

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News 29 September 2020

Every Australian Counts goes to the NDIS Joint Standing Committee

Well – talks to them by phone anyway.

Our Campaign Director Kirsten Deane gave evidence today at the NDIS Joint Standing Committee’s inquiry into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

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News 18 September 2020

Keeping people with disability safe during COVID

Yesterday the National Disability Insurance Agency, the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the Department of Social Services all appeared before the Senate inquiry into the government’s management of the COVID19 pandemic.

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News 9 September 2020

NDIS Independent Assessment rejected by AAT

You have spent the last week telling us about your concerns about the introduction of independent assessments.

Turns out you are not alone. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal shares them.

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News 9 September 2020

Testing times in the NDIS…

Just over a week ago the Minister for the NDIS Stuart Robert announced the government’s response to the Tune review.

It was a good news/bad news kind of a thing.

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News 28 August 2020

Big NDIS changes are coming – Government and NDIS response to the Tune Review

Some breaking news this morning …

The Minister for the NDIS Stuart Robert has released the government’s response to the Tune review.

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Opinion 22 August 2020

Pandemic experience shows the NDIS is still not working like it should

“Please stop making this so hard. We are bruised and fragile already, COVID has made us even more vulnerable, and then we have to fight against the very service that is meant to be helping us. Please stop making our needs a battleground, stop assuming we are somehow trying to swindle services we don’t need, and just let us have the NDIS that we were meant to get.”

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News 22 August 2020

Coronavirus changes in Queensland

Changes have been announced for people with disability in some parts of Queensland about masks and PPE, supported accommodation, and new rules. We’ve popped all the info people with disability and families need to know right here – and we will keep updating as new info comes out.

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News 20 August 2020

Every Australian Counts heads to the Disability Royal Commission

“We feel forgotten. We need help. And we need things to be much, much easier”.

They were the messages we took to the Disability Royal Commission yesterday.

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News 19 August 2020

“Left out and locked down” The experiences of people with disability and their families during COVID19

“We’ve been forgotten. We need more help. We need things to be easier”. They are the overwhelming messages to come out of our Coronavirus survey for people with disability and families.

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News 19 August 2020

Media release: “Left out and locked down” report highlights the COVID-19 experience of people with disability

A new report into the experiences of NDIS participants and their families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic shows many were stretched to breaking point and let down by poor communication and a lack of support and help.

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News 11 August 2020

Get your mask on!

There’s been a bunch of new info released over the last couple of months around masks and people with disability. We’ve popped it all in the one place so you don’t have to go hunting. (And we have done our best to try and explain what it all means which has NOT been easy…)

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News 3 August 2020

Getting answers to the big questions – our Zoom forum with the NDIA

Why can’t we have planning meetings over video? Why can’t we get contact details for staff at the NDIA? Why do approvals for equipment take so long?

And will you cut my funding next time because I did not use all of it as a result of COVID lockdowns?

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News 29 July 2020

Get out your butcher’s paper and sticky notes – it’s consultation time!

Who remembers this?

The National Disability Strategy was a ten-year plan that came out in 2010.

It was the first time all levels of Australian governments had come together to make a plan like this for ALL people with disability, ALL over Australia.

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News 21 July 2020

Open letter from disability sector on the publication of NDIS settlement outcomes

Would you love to see the results of NDIS appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) but don’t have the time or spoons to wade through pages and pages of legal goobledegook?

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Opinion 3 July 2020

New SDA rules are a win for participants and for the NDIS

There have been some great changes recently to the rules about Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). We know it can be hard to stay on top of everything that is happening so we have asked our good friend and resident SDA expert Dr George Taleporos to explain it all for us.

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News 26 June 2020

New inquiry into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

The Joint Standing Committee into the NDIS are holding an inquiry into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Have your say about what needs to change.

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