NDIS to be rolled fully out in NSW, Victoria

The $22 billion National Dis­ability Insurance Scheme is to move to full rollout in NSW and Victoria.

Assistant Social Services Minister Mitch Fifield says ‘we are very close to signing with a number of states’. Picture: Kym Smith.

The $22 billion National Dis­ability Insurance Scheme will be given the first guarantee it will move to full rollout in NSW and Victoria when agreements for the transition are announced on Wednesday, providing a blueprint for a massive escalation in support.

But there are hurdles, still, with Western Australia refusing to sign up to the Labor-era scheme, saying its own disability services program, MyWay, offers better value for taxpayers.

There has been a cloud hanging over the future of the NDIS, with The Australian revealing scores of design flaws involving ­inaccurate modelling. Issues have been identified with cost estimates, the provision of housing support and how many children with autism will be eligible for ­assistance.

The latter issue led to a blowout in the number of participants in the South Australian trial, which doubled in size and led to massive delays and a backlog of claims on behalf of children. The backlog may not clear before the state begins dramatically expanding to the full scheme. The new agreements, which have not been signed for all jurisdictions, govern how the NDIS will expand from supporting 30,000 people in June next year to 460,000 in 2019.

At full rollout the states will provide $10bn and the commonwealth will fund $12bn, although it would have spent $3bn regardless of whether the NDIS existed.

Of the net additional cost to the commonwealth — $9bn — the Medicare levy increase funds about 40 per cent, leaving a $5bn gap which needs to come from elsewhere in the budget, or as yet unidentified revenue. “Negotiations are progressing well with states and territories on the ­bilateral agreements for full NDIS rollout beyond the trial sites,” ­Assistant Social Services Minister Mitch Fifield told The Weekend Australian.

“We are very close to signing with a number of states. I want to ensure the tremendous goodwill by all governments throughout these negotiations remains.

“These are joint ventures, and any announcements will be made together with our state and territory partners. My focus remains on landing agreements and delivering a full NDIS that stands the tests of time.”

Senator Fifield has advertised for additional board members to join the National Disability Insurance Agency, the organisation that runs the NDIS. Those members will begin next June and are expected to add significant corporate and insurance expertise to the oversight of the program.

NSW Minister for Disability Services John Ajaka said he was looking forward to an announcement “shortly”.

“The NSW government has an iron-clad commitment to ­deliver the NDIS, the greatest ­social reform of our generation,” he said.

Victorian Disability Minister Martin Foley said work was continuing on the rollout.

“The Andrews Labor government knows that people with a disability and their families and carers have fought hard for the NDIS and we will not let them down,” he said.

People with Disability Australia president Craig Wallace told The Weekend Australian the ­announcements would provide “certainty” for some people awaiting support.

“Particularly for people who are close to the age cut-off (65), many people have been very anxious about when they will see this next stage,” he said.