The Federal Government and Western Australia have finally struck a deal on a WA-delivered NDIS. Funding for administration and operating costs will be the responsibility of the WA government while governance responsibilities will be shared.
Rolling out from July the scheme will be delivered by a new WA NDIS authority and governed by a seven-member independent WA board. Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter said there were 11 fixed conditions required by the Commonwealth to ensure consistency and integrity for the state-run scheme were in place. “WA’s agreement with the Commonwealth provides national consistency around key elements such as eligibility and access to supports provided through the NDIS,” he said.
WA Disability Services Minister, Donna Faragher said about 39,000 people would be part of the WA NDIS by the end of the transition phase. “People will enter the scheme between July 1, 2017 and June 30 2020 based on a geographic roll-out which is consistent with other parts of the nation,” she said.