Alarm at NDIS Reform Revelations
Today is International Day of People with Disability. On a day that should be about celebrating people with disability, we were appalled to read the article in The Guardian confirming that concerns raised by SWAN and other advocates about the lack of appeal rights for participants in the amendments to the NDIS Act last year were entirely justified – despite National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and former Minister Bill Shorten’s assurances that appeal rights would not change.
According to a briefing given to NDIA staff in Queensland, participants with New Framework Plans will still be able to appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), however the ART will not be able to change the plan to add supports or funding. The ART will only be able to order the NDIA to conduct another Support Needs Assessment and issue a new plan. This potentially places participants on a merry-go-round of Support Needs Assessments and ART appeals, with high risk of hospitalisation or death due to inadequate funding.
The briefing also told NDIA delegates that the participants’ budgets will be created by a computer algorithm once the Support Needs Assessment report has been entered into the system. Worse, the delegates will not be able to change the budget if the algorithm’s calculation is not enough to meet the participant’s needs. They can order a new Support Needs Assessment, but not change the budget itself. The Support Needs Assessments will be conducted by APS (Australia Public Service) level 6 staff, most of whom will have no allied health qualifications.
Given that the NDIA will have sole control over the algorithm to decide the budget, with no input from advocates or any independent checks, we are extremely concerned.
We call on Ministers Jenny McAllister, Mark Butler and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to amend the legislation to ensure full independent appeal rights are reinstated. It is an unacceptable breach of human rights to risk the safety and wellbeing of people with disability on an untested Support Needs Assessment process and algorithm without full independent appeal rights.
Even RoboDebts could be appealed.
