The National Disability Insurance Scheme Employment and Opportunity

1. The National Disability Insurance Scheme Employment and Opportunity Disability Employment Australia, National Leaders’ Forum Mary Hawkins BranchManager, Market, Innovation, Quality and Pricing National Disability Insurance Agency

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 • Demand-driven rather than rationed funding • Delivered in local community • Working towards national coverage

3. There are currently 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 commences a two year pilot for NDIS and MyWay from 1 July 2014 Perth Hills

4. Progress so far has been good • Website receives between 2,000 and 5,000 visits each day – over 1million so far • More than 40,000 people have visited My Access Checker with over 25,000 completing it • More than 1,500 people have walked into NDIS shopfronts. • Majority of visitors sought general information about the scheme • Close to 2000 plans have commenced or completed • Those who have had their first planning session reported a high level of satisfaction with the process

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

6. A primary aim of the scheme is to increase participation • Consistent with UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities - aim to achieve full social and economic participation of people with disability • Scheme design assumes that 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, and that are provided by other systems are accessible • Scheme will fund reasonable and necessary disability supports required to achieve participation

7. The way Participants access support is likely to change over time • Scheme will support participants to access appropriate and responsive mainstream systems such as DES and JSA. • Where Participant is not eligible for mainstream support they will be funded to access support that will build their capacity and to enable them to participate in work. • Innovation, competition and the emergence of new markets are a possible response to greater choice and control. • New opportunities are expected to emerge for employment and employment supports over time

8. 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 to achieve goals in participant statement • Assist independence, social and economic participation • Are effective or beneficial for the participant, having regard to current good practice

9. 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.

10. Employment: Guiding principles Employment system: Reasonable adjustments in the workplace, plus employment services work-specific support – reasonable adjustments employment services for people with disability Disability awareness training for staff Building modifications to enable access NDIS: Supports required regardless of the activity they are undertaking • supports required regardless of the activity (i.e. those not primarily relating to employment) • supported employment (ADE’s) • transition assistance to access and sustain employment • Examples: personal care and support during work, portable aids and equipment and transport to/from work • Examples: workplace modifications, work-specific aids and equipment, and transport within work activities

11. Employment: Service offer

12. Diversity and Employment within the NDIA • The Agency is committed to being an exemplar in the disability employment • Has set participation target of 12% and is working towards meeting this • As at end September, the Agency has 9.4% of its overall staffing identifying as having a disability • 11.8% of the client facing network • To compare, the current APS-wide participation level for people with disability is 2.9% • A range of strategies are in place to improve performance such as selection processes including an experienced person with a disability • 2% are from indigenous backgrounds • And just under 6% from diverse cultural backgrounds.

13. NDIA role to build individual, community and sector capacity • Practical Design Fund projects are available through 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.

14. Questions?