National Disability Insurance Scheme gets an extra $3 billion ... but there’s a catch

THE government has been accused of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ by promising to use savings from social welfare cuts to boost NDIS funding.

Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced an extra $3 billion for the National Disability Insurance scheme. Picture: AAP

TREASURER Scott Morrison has announced $3 billion in savings secured through the Government’s omnibus social services bill will go to Australians with a disability.

The funds will make up the remainder of the savings from the omnibus bill while the rest will go to child care reforms, the Treasurer said today.

Mr Morrison said the $3 billion from the reforms would fill a “black hole” of a funding gap for the NDIS left by the former Labor Government.

“We have been working from day one to ensure that we fill that vacuum that was created by the previous government,” he told reporters in Canberra today.

Rachael Emerson with daughters Pei-Ling and Mishel, who are one of the families eligible for the NDIS.

Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said the Government’s plan to fund the NDIS through welfare reforms was like “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.

“We should not be hacking billions from the social safety net to pay for the NDIS,” she said.

“The Treasurer is trying to pressure the Senate to support their cuts — this is a cheap trick. People with disability would no doubt be outraged that a young person had to wait five weeks in poverty to pay for the NDIS.

“Why are tax loopholes still open for the super wealthy while the Government goes after struggling Australians?”

Newcastle's Evie Rich has 18p-Syndrome and is an NDIS recipient. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Human Services Minister Christian Porter said the $3 billion would be part of the $11 billion in Government funding already pledged to the NDIS in 2020.

Labor had secured about $7 billion of the $11.1 billion pledged for the NDIS in 2020 through existing funding in the disability sector, through the Commonwealth’s share of the Medicare levy and through state-based programs.

But there was still a gap of about $4.1 billion.

“What we are showing today is we are absolutely committed to doing the very challenging work of government, and that is to find appropriate savings to fill the funding gap in 2020 so that we will not have to resort to further borrowing or higher taxes to ensure that Australians with a disability are looked after in the way that we expect they will be through the NDIS,” Mr Porter said.