A group of people's hands with red paint on them to represent Foundational Supports.

Consultations around the design of Foundational Supports are starting this month.

Public consultation with people with lived experience and their families and carers, disability organisations, along with the broader sector will help to inform the design of what additional supports for people with disability outside of the NDIS should look like and how they can best be delivered in the future. 

These supports will be jointly designed and funded by Commonwealth, state and territory governments.

Foundational Supports will include general foundational supports available to all people with disability, as well as “targeted” foundational supports.

General supports will include things like trusted information and guidance, peer supports and capacity building. Targeted supports for specific groups will be the focus of later stages of consultation.

“For these supports to be effective they must be shaped by the experiences, insights and voices of Australians with disability and their families,” said Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth.

The first stage of consultations covering general foundational supports that deliver information and capacity building assistance will commence from the second half of September. People can have their say through webinars, online questionnaires, written submissions, and in-person events to be held across Australia.

People can find out more about how they can get involved by visiting the DSS Engage website.