NDIA chairman, Bruce Bonyhady said “the NDIS is on budget and growing steadily.” Commenting on the release of the Quarterly Report, Bonyhady noted there would be quite a bit of variability in the data from quarter to quarter as different groups were phased into the scheme. “But these results show it’s steady as she goes in the NDIS trial sites, although we still have lots more work to do.”
To date the largest disability groups across the trial sites are autism, intellectual disability, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
Bonyhady said in the months ahead the NDIS will undergo further adjustments to improve the experience and flexibility of participants, as well as value for money for all Australian taxpayers. To this end the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is working to:
- Build a diverse and innovative market for disability support, including fostering new providers and helping existing providers move from block funding to a contestable market.
- Make individual plans more flexible and provide greater control and choice to participants.
- Increase the capacity of disability support organisations to get people ready for the broader roll-out of the NDIS.
- Ensure improved plans help to build family, informal and community supports.
- Work with governments to tackle challenges with “in-kind” arrangements which restrict control and choice among participants and hurt cash-flow for some providers.
In its most exhaustive study ever, the Productivity Commission found that the NDIA will add around one per cent to gross domestic product when fully operational. Prior to the NDIS, spending on disability by all government was growing at 8 per cent a year, after inflation. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates the cost of disability services without reform will be $20 billion more than the annual cost of the NDIS by 2035.
For more information visit: www.ndis.gov.au