NSW auditor-general report prepares non-government sectors for the NDIS. The Department of Family and Community Services has managed the risks of the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in New South Wales by increasing the capacity of the non-government sector and investing in provider capability, according to a report released by NSW deputy auditor-general, Ian Goodwin.
The Department of Family and Community Services has been working with the non-government sector to increase the services being provided to help meet the expected increase in demand under the NDIS.
Funding for disability support in New South Wales will rise from $3.3 billion in 2015/16 to $6.8 billion when the NDIS is fully operational in 2018/19 and the number of staff required is expected to double in the same period. The NSW Government is responsible for helping existing non-government providers prepare for the NDIS by developing the business skills and systems needed to operate in a competitive disability services environment. The state government is also responsible for supporting the Australian Government to develop a national market for disability services.
Over the past decade, the department has directed funding toward disability support such as increasing support for people with disability to be more involved in the community and giving people with disability more choice about the support they receive. However, more work is needed to build the sector’s capacity to provide services to people with more complex support needs and to help existing non-government providers complete the transition to the NDIS successfully.
The department invested more than $30 million in programs that aimed to help non-government providers get ready for the NDIS. The programs focused on areas including business strategy, corporate governance, financial management and marketing.
The report also identified several broad principles that may be relevant to other departments and agencies that are seeking to develop the non-government sector to deliver human services such as defining the desired outcomes for people using services and including these in service delivery contracts.