Federal Budget 2019: Bill Shorten pledges to get NDIS ‘back on track’ in Budget reply speech

Bill Shorten has slammed the Coalition for their management of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as he revealed a number of measured to get it “back on track” in his budget reply speech.

Bill Shorten has pledged to put the National Disability Insurance Scheme “back on track”, claiming it has been short-changed by the government by $1.6 billion.

In his budget reply speech, Mr Shorten said the Liberals had a record of poor decisions on the NDIS including sacking the board, delaying the signing of funding agreements with the states, and capping staff numbers.

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Mr Shorten said the Liberals had a record of poor decisions on the NDIS. Picture: Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images

“The Liberals shrug and say the $1.6 billion isn’t needed, because of a lack of demand,” he said.

“There are thousands of Australians who embraced the promise of the NDIS but whose legitimate demands have simply not been met.”

Mr Shorten said people were telling him they were in desperate need.

“The young man in Ballarat who has waited more than two years for a wheelchair, so long that he ended up in hospital with pressure sores.

“The family whose daughter has an intellectual disability, who have waited ten months for funding for the speech therapy she needed to learn and make friends at school.

“Or the family of a profoundly deaf young man who was denied interpreters and training in Auslan and has spent the last two and a half years appealing that decision.”

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Mr Shorten said Labor would lift the cap on staff numbers at the National Disability Insurance Agency to get support out the door.

“We will put people with disability back at the centre of decision-making. And we will get the NDIS back on track.

Originally published as Federal Budget 2019: Bill Shorten pledges to get NDIS ‘back on track’ in Budget reply speech