The National Disability Insurance Scheme Scheme overview and implementation update

1. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Scheme overview and implementation update Presenter nameTitle National Disability Insurance Agency Date

2. The NDIS is a new way of delivering disability support • Supports tailored to individual needs • Insurance approach for more stable long term costs and better outcomes • Choice and control is central • Needs driven rather than rationed funding • Delivered in local community • Working towards national coverage

3. We launched the scheme on 1 July 2013 • The legislation is the NDIS Act 2013 • Government agreements are signed • Council of Australian Governments signed intergovernmental agreement in December 2012 • Bilateral agreements were signed in April 2013 • There are Heads of Agreement for full scheme in NSW, South Australia, ACT, Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland • Local arrangements in place • The NDIA has seven regional offices across four launch locations open as of 1 July • Our systems and processes were tested locally through site rehearsals prior to launch • We have been focused on talking with people and providers at a local level and will continue to do so over the period of launch

4. There are 7 launch sites being established over the next 3 years • On 1 July 2013, the first stage of the NDIS commenced in • South Australia • Tasmania • The Hunter in NSW and • The Barwon area in Victoria • The ACT and NT will join the first stage on • 1 July 2014 • Western Australia will commence a two year launch from 1 July 2014

5. Our role Delivering the national disability insurance scheme Building community awareness of disability Ensuring financial sustainability of the scheme Collecting, analysing and exchanging data Developing and enhancing the disability sector Undertaking research related to disability and supports

6. Principles and objects of the NDIS Act 2013 underpin delivery • Give effect to obligations under UNCRPD and certain obligations in other conventions • Support independence, social and economic participation – not passive • Provide reasonable and necessary supports, including early intervention • Enable people to exercise choice and control in pursuit of goals, and in planning and delivery of their supports • Facilitate nationally consistent approach to access, planning and funding of supports • Promote provision of high quality, innovative supports to maximise independent lifestyles and full inclusion in the community • Principles expand on the objects for implementation and guide administration

7. A primary aim of the scheme is to increase participation • Consistent with UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - aim to achieve full social and economic participation of people with disability • Scheme design assumes people with disability will participate to the extent they are able • Increased economic participation translates to better long term outcomes for individuals and communities • Higher participation rates will permanently deal with social constraints of disability • Scheme will work to ensure that other supports, such as employment assistance, that are provided by other systems are accessible • Scheme will fund reasonable and necessary disability supports required to achieve participation

8. How things are changing under the National Disability Insurance Scheme

9. Accessing the scheme • People with disability who meet the access requirements will becomeparticipants in the scheme • NDIS has a wide gateway to introduce people to the scheme through multiple channels and touch points • People can use MyAccess Checker to get an indication about whether they will be able to access assistance from the scheme • Gradual intake of participants into the scheme, starting with people in launch locations

10. Early intervention requirements • You may meet the early intervention requirements if: • You have a permanent impairment • And • There is evidence that getting supports now (early interventions) will help you by either: • Reducing how much help you need to do things now and in the future or • Helping your family and carer to keep helping you

11. Developing the Statement of Supports takes into account Sustainable informal care • Records informal care that will be provided • Talk with the family about sustainable arrangements into the future. • Reasonable expectations of care by family • Optimise mainstream supports • Not funded by NDIS • Plan records nature, referral and support to access to be provided • NDIS will not provide supports that should be provided in mainstream • General supports • Services provided by Agency e.g. • Provision of information • Local area co-ordination to assist person to access mainstream or other community services • Identify the Reasonable and Necessary Supports • Provides funding for support reasonable and necessary support to achieve goals • Assist independence, social, economic, community participation • Effective or beneficial for the participant, having regard to current good practice

12. Management of funding for supports to be resolved with Participant The type of funds management that the participant chooses can vary depending on their circumstances. Different options can be chosen for different supports. Plans may have a combination of the options as shown. Agency can limit self management where financial or personal risk.

13. NDIA role to build individual, community and sector capacity • Practical Design Fund projects are available via our website • My Choice, My Control, My Future: DisabilityCare Australia conference on 23 and 24 June 2013. The proceedings are available on the NDIA website • Sector development fund • Likely to be applied to needs of individuals, community and provider readiness • Building on previous work by jurisdictions • Roundtable discussions with the not for profit sector, stakeholders and key interest groups have taken place and more are planned • Transition of people and programs into the scheme will be gradual to allow time to build capacity of individuals and sector

14. People from diverse backgrounds contributed to design • Specific activities that have included CALD community are: • Small group sessions in the Barwon Area and Hunter Area • Participation in the Alliance CALD roundtable • Federation of Ethnic Communities Council Australia (FECCA) represented at Not For Profit with Minister Macklin • Agency’s field testing of assessment process with CALD groups • Specific outcomes from these have been: • Cultural sensitivity training for frontline staff • Consultants engaged to assist in addressing the particular needs of CALD communities in launch sites including translated materials • Ongoing engagement with CALD communities will occur.

15. People with disability from Indigenous backgrounds Indigenous people and organisations - a priority target group for engagement Experience a significantly higher rate of disability compared to non-indigenous people Recognised that many Indigenous people with disability do not identify as having a disability Indigenous planners and LACs employed in each launch site to ensure scheme is accessible to Indigenous people Scheme launch in Barkly region of NT in July 2014 – will help to inform future roll out to Indigenous people First People’s Disability Network (Sector Development Fund

16. People with mental illness • A person may meet the disability requirements if they have a permanent impairment due to a psychosocial disability • NDIS will be responsible for non-clinical supports for participants with psychosocial disability. These could include: • Support for community integration and day-to-day living • Therapy that would manage or reduce the functional impact of the psychiatric impairment • Support to independently access and maintain participation in mainstream community resources • Skills and capacity building at the community level • Supported residential accommodation that is non-clinical

17. Disability requirements Accessing support from the scheme requires that: You have a permanent disability Your disability has a big impact on your day to day life and on your ability to participate in your community You are going to need supports for the rest of your life

18. Progress so far has been good • Over 1,200,000 unique visitors to the website • The website receives between 2,000 and 5,000 visits each day • More than 40,000 people have visited My Access Checker with over 25,000 completing it • More than 2000 people have walked into NDIS shopfronts • Received close to 3000 access requests • Over 2,200 plans have commenced or completed • Those who have had their first planning session reported a high level of satisfaction with the process

19. Key Achievements: • 116 staff on-boarded and ready for 1 July 2013 • 14% are people with lived experience • Colac Office opened 5 months ahead of schedule • Over 280 Registered Providers. • Over 500 people have developed a plan • Simone, Lynne and Tina:

20. There is lots of work still to do • Continued engagement with people, providers and the community • Movement of National Office to Geelong • Building the capacity of Agency to respond to increase in participants • Evaluation and feedback about the scheme including preparation for independent evaluation of first stage • Preparation of 2014 launch sites (ACT, NT and WA) as well as 2016 rollout in Queensland

21. Questions?