The recent release of the new NDIS

Participant Service Charter, including Participant Service Guarantee, and Participant Service Improvement Plan provides a road map for how the NDIA will better serve Participants, the service timeframes that will be met, and changes to be made to ensure the Scheme meets community expectations into the future.

The Participant Service Charter outlines the NDIA’s commitment to providing Participants with a service that is:

• Transparent – making it easy to access and understand information and decisions.

• Responsive –responding to individual needs and circumstances.

• Respectful – Recognising individual experiences and acknowledging that Participants are experts in their own lives.

• Empowering – Making it easy to access information and be supported.

• And, Connected – Allowing Participants to access the services and supports they need.

Included in the Participant Service Charter are new timeframes for NDIS service delivery processes, known as the Participant Service Guarantee.

The Service Guarantee is intended to provide Participants with a guide as to how quickly they should expect a response decision from the NDIA regarding services, plan approval, plan reviews and nominee changes.

The NDIA will retrospectively measure itself (where possible) against the proposed Participant Service Guarantee timeframes from 1 July 2020, ahead of the anticipated legislative change.

The NDIS Service Improvement Plan details Scheme changes and improvements to be made in the next two years. It details the practical steps that will be taken to ensure the NDIS lives up to the expectations of Participants, their families and carers, their providers, the broader community, and the NDIA.

The NDIA will continue to work with service providers and the disability community to facilitate ongoing advice and feedback and has outlined a commitment to transparency through the process.

We look forward to seeing the changes taking place over the coming years.

Downloads:
Participant Improvement Plan
Participant Service Charter

Whilst the Scheme now covers 100% of Australian territory, marking a major milestone, service delivery sits at 90% with 364,000 Participants now receiving services. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) estimates that funded supports will be delivered to 500,000 participants longer term.

Reaching remote communities.
Expansion of NCCP support.
Disability in the Bush app.

Reaching remote communities.

Reaching remote communities has been challenging, but the NDIA is continuing to work to ensure that more Australians living in rural and remote areas have the same ability to access support under the scheme as their city cousins.

This July, Minister for the NDIS Stuart Robert announced a $20 million expansion of the National Community Connector program (NCCP).

The program is specifically designed to build support links and assistance in accessing the NDIS, particularly in ‘harder to reach’ communities, including remote communities, for people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) communities, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, People experiencing psychosocial disabilities; and Ageing parents or carers of people with disability.

Selected NCCP delivery partners include:

• National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
• Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia
• National Ethnic Disability Alliance
• Mental Health Australia
• First Peoples Disability Network

With the current COVID-19 situation, support will be delivered through telephone services, webinar and radio (in various languages), and online support.

The NDIA has also funded the development of an online app, ‘Disability in the Bush’ by Ninti One and the Interplay Project, that is designed to get vital information about accessing services under the NDIS to people in remote communities.

In an interview with the ABC*, Interplay Project’s Dr Sheree Cairney, an Associate Professor at Flinders University says, “Aboriginal Australians are twice as likely to have a disability as non-Aboriginal Australians, yet their access to services is quite poor.”

The app is designed to bridge the gap and has been developed by, and for, Aboriginal people. The app features the stories and experiences of remote residents with a disability, with translations into the Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara indigenous languages, and with plans to include further languages over time.

Visit Disability in the Bush.

• https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-29/new-app-to-make-ndis-more-accessible-for-remote-communities/12389056

Roll back of COVID-19 measures.

From July 1, the NDIS has rolled back temporary COVID-19 measures, including:

• Removing the temporary 10 per cent price loading on certain core and capacity building supports.
• Redefining the temporary cancellation period from 10 days to levels under the previous policy (2 business days) and;
• Returning the Medium-Term Accommodation (MTA) period to the original policy of 90 days (rolled back from 180 days).

Participant focused COVID-19 response measures will remain in place until further reviews are completed. This includes offering alternatives for face-to-face planning meetings, plan extensions for up to 24 months following review, and flexible use of funds to purchase low cost assistive technology.

Have your say.
The NDIA, in association with the Melbourne Disability Institute at the University of Melbourne, has developed a survey for NDIS Participants to have your say on your experiences during this time of COVID-19.

You can let the NDIA know how you have found communications and interactions with the NDIA, accessing NDIS funded services and using telehealth to access allied health services during this period.

The survey will remain open until August, and all responses will remain anonymous.
Access the survey by Clicking Here.

The changes mean that, from the 1st March, NDIS Participants will be able to use their core support funding more flexibly to claim costs of transport to and from NDIS funded community-based activities.

The decision reverses an unpopular earlier mandate that ‘blocked’ participants from using funds in this way, enabling Participants to reallocate costs of transport, including those who already receive a periodic payment for transport.

The NDIS will soon release an updated Price Guide, including transport rates and costs, which have been set as the following:

• up to $0.85 a kilometre for a standard vehicle not modified for accessibility;
• up to $2.40 a kilometre for a vehicle that is modified for accessibility or a bus; and
• other forms of transport or associated costs up to the full amount, such as road tolls, parking, public transport fares.

Further Information:

Visit the NDIS website, click here

The Productivity Commission puts the cost of mental ill health to the Australian economy at $51 billion per year.

It’s estimated that 1 in 5 Australians experience mental ill health every year. $18 billion is spent on mental health services. And, we now lose more people to suicide each year, than road accidents.

The need to improve our mental health system is clear.

The Commission’s enquiry into Mental Health Draft Report was released in 2019, with public submissions closing in late January 2020. The Draft Report calls for action in 4 key areas:
• Efficient funding
• More services
• Early intervention
• Changing attitudes

The past 18 months has seen the transition of people with primary psychosocial disability (a disability that arises from a mental health issue) into the NDIS and, as a result, significant changes in the interface with other mental health, primary care, social and community services.

Of the approximately 690,000 people with a severe mental illness in Australia, 21,700 currently receiving psychosocial supports under the NDIS, with a further 42, 300 considered eligible.

The report looks at the NDIS transition, and improvements that can be made to ensure that people who require services are not ‘falling through the gaps’.

The final enquiry report will be handed to the Australian Government by 23 May 2020.

Further Information

Access the Draft Report at https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/mental-health/draft

Community Mental Health Australia is partnering with the Mental Health Coalition of SA to host the 3rd National NDIS and Mental Health Conference in Adelaide in March 2020. The conference looks at how the NDIS can best service those living with mental illness in our communities. Visit: https://ndisnationalmentalhealthconference.com.au/

Plan Management involves coordinating all your NDIS funded supports from selected providers; managing all plan expenditure against budget, coordinating supplier payments and expense reimbursement, and ensuring all government reporting requirements are met.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) provides 3 options for participants in managing their NDIS plan:

• Self-Managed/Self-Directed
• Independent Plan Management Provider
• NDIA Managed (known as Agency Managed)

For many participants, your chosen option* will be dependent on a few considerations:

• How much choice and control you would like over the administration of your Plan?
• Whether you have the time, capacity, confidence and desire to manage your own Plan?
• How comfortable you are in appointing an independent Plan Manager that will keep your best interests at heart?

Importantly, YOU have the choice in how you wish your plan to be managed. You may even opt for a combination of all 3 options.

The Pros and Cons

Self-Managed/Self-Directed

This option will provide the greatest choice and flexibility in managing your plan, however, will require the greatest time input and effort from your end!

Self-management of your plan will allow you to choose which support providers you would like to use, including those not registered with the NDIS. Plan management can be participant self-managed, or managed by a participant’s nominee. If appointing a nominee to manage your plan (generally an existing informal carer), the NDIA will need to approve this.

If opting for self-management, the NDIA will pay you directly. You will need to ensure that your budget is effectively managed over the life of your Plan, that all supplier payments and reimbursements are managed in a timely way, and that all paperwork requirements are met in contributing information to the NDIS participant portal ‘Myplace’ and reporting outcomes against your approved Plan.

The NDIA publishes a useful Guideline for participants looking to self-manage their NDIS Plan.

Independent Plan Management Provider

An independent plan management provider will act on your behalf in administering your Plan, managing your Plan budget and undertaking all financial management, including payment coordination of your supports; negotiating your services directly with providers and managing all paperwork on your behalf.

This can alleviate much of the headache on your end!

The NDIA will pay your plan manager directly but you will still have an active responsibility in the administration of your Plan – in choosing your services and supports, which can include services from providers not registered with the NDIS.

Your Independent Plan Management Provider can be, but does not necessarily need to be, a current support provider to you. Appointing a Plan Provider that you already have a trusting relationship with, though, can assist in understanding your individual circumstances and support access needs.

You may wish to keep a separation, however. The important thing is to ensure that you are receiving adequate transparency around the management of your Plan.

Should you wish to appoint an independent plan management provider, these services should be included within your funding request.

Assured Home Care can provide you and/or your nominee with assistance as a plan management provider.

NDIA Managed (Agency Managed)

Regarded as a default option, under an agency managed relationship, you will have the least control over your Plan expenditure.

The NDIA will approve all payments to providers directly and handle all your paperwork. When opting for this option, you will only be able to choose registered NDIS providers to provide support to you and you may experience less price flexibility.

However, it may be a beneficial option for those who would prefer a greater degree of management over their Plan (i.e. having all aspects managed for you).

In Summary

There are some definite pros and cons depending on which Plan Management option you choose.

Remember, it’s not set in stone either. You can choose to change your Plan Management approach at any point in time. What works for you now may not work for you in the future.

This approach goes to the heart of the philosophy of the NDIS; providing you with greater choice and control.

* Following confirmation of your approved plan, you will be contacted by an NDIA Support Coordinator to discuss how you wish to implement the plan and manage your supports.

Raelene Hanley
Client Services Manager/NDIS Specialist