Further initiatives for supporting NDIS participants and disability providers during COVID-19 have been announced.
For the next five months, eligible participants will be able to use existing NDIS plan funding to purchase low-cost assistive technology, including smart devices, to enable continued access to disability supports through telehealth and telepractice while physical distancing regulations are in place. This is to ensure participants remain connected to their services and disability supports.
New support items for Supported Independent Living (SIL) providers are now available too where a participant has been diagnosed with coronavirus, including higher intensity support and professional cleaning services. Also, downloadable Access Request and Supporting Evidence Forms are now available on the NDIS website.
These initiatives build on previous coronavirus-specific supports including outbound calls to high-risk participants, special teams of planners to assist participants, flexible use of funding to access disability supports and for providers, cash flow assistance and a 10 per cent COVID-19 loading on some services.
Since the announcement of these initiatives on March 21, almost $600 million has been paid in one-month advance payments to almost 5,000 providers to offer immediate cash flow relief and ensure services could continue, NDIS Minister Stuart Robert said. “As of last week, more than $300 million in weekly provider payments were processed, indicating the majority of services are continuing and participants are still accessing the disability supports they need.”
For more information on the NDIS response to the coronavirus, including rollout of the new changes visit: www.ndis.gov.au