Australian Government response to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme report: Inquiry into General Issues

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Inquiry into General Issues cover

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The Australian Government welcomes the Joint Standing Committee (JSC) first report of the 46th Parliament for the Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) General Issues. 

The report looks at issues related to the implementation and performance of the NDIS and makes 10 recommendations to improve the NDIS for participants, providers and other key stakeholders. The Australian Government supports eight of the recommendations and notes recommendations seven and eight in relation to engagement with people with disability who are homeless. 

Action is already underway to implement the recommendations relating to reviewing actions taken to support people with disability during COVID-19 and to improve the engagement and service responses of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in relation to vulnerable groups. 

The NDIA already undertakes specific engagement and service responses to improve the experiences and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability and vulnerable groups, including people with psychosocial disability and people with disability who are homeless. The NDIA has a number of formal governance groups to ensure ongoing engagement and input to the operations of the NDIS for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability and vulnerable groups. The NDIA is currently reviewing its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy to facilitate input to the design and implementation of the NDIS. In addition, the NDIA undertakes regular targeted national consultation with NDIS participants and their representative organisations to understand their experiences and seek input to a range of implementation matters. 

The Australian Government supports Recommendation 9 relating to better communication with participants about NDIS matters. Recent activity to support this goal includes the NDIA reviewing NDIS Operational Guidelines to make them simple, clear and easy to use.  

The Australian Government supports Recommendation 10 to publish information about managing circumstances surrounding the death of a participant including the support available to family members and carers. The NDIA has established a dedicated bereavement section on the NDIS website as well as a national bereavement team so that carers are made aware of support services including through the Carer Gateway. 

The following pages provide a detailed outline of the Australian Government response to each of the recommendations and planned actions, including activity that is currently in train or has already been undertaken.

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