Public deserves NDIS costs detail

It was a fair and reasonable request, made in the public interest. In May, a Freedom of Information request lodged by The Australian sought “specifically any modelling on the costs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme used to inform the NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework and its annual growth target of 8 per cent”. There is no good reason to keep the public, who pays for the scheme, in the dark. That was highlighted over the past week with the release of Treasury’s Intergenerational Report. It warned the NDIS was on track to have blown out to 6.3 per cent of the nation’s total GDP by 2063 without national cabinet stepping in last April to impose the 8 per cent annual growth target. Without that intervention, NDIS payments would take up more of the national economy than health spending, and more than double that of aged care and defence, the IGR said.

The scheme needs to be scrutinised in order to remain sustainable. The Department of Social Services, which oversees the NDIS, took three months to respond to The Australian’s FOI application, after consulting with several other departments, including Treasury and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. DSS blocked the request but revealed it had found reference to the NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework modelling in one document, covering just “half a page”. The DSS said the FOI was rejected because “the public interest factors against disclosure (were) more persuasive than the public interest factors favouring disclosure”. Why? The department also claimed the document contained “deliberative matter” because it was prepared to inform a particular policy decision. That sounds like a good reason to give the facts to those who fund the NDIS and have a direct stake in the decision.

Anthony Albanese announced the NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework – setting an annual growth target of 8 per cent by mid-2026, down from the current 14 per cent yearly rise in costs – 11 days before the May 9 budget. It was an important and welcome announcement. Curtailing spending and repaying debt so as to reduce interest payments are essential. But no modelling or explanation of the NDIS financial plan was included in Treasury papers. But the budget baked in $15bn in reduced NDIS growth over the four-year forward estimates. That is a positive, but the public deserves to know the details. The secrecy creates an impression of running from scrutiny.