Wayne Swan defends NDIS funding setup amid $5bn budget hit

Wayne Swan insists the NDIS was ‘fully funded’ when introduced by his government, as a $5bn budget hit is revealed.

Former treasurer Wayne Swan has defended the funding setup of the NDIS.

Former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan insisted the NDIS was “fully funded” when it was introduced by his government.

The NDIS, which will finance support services for people with disabilities and their families, is budgeted to cost about $22bn a year once it is fully operational from 2020, or about 1 per cent of GDP, with responsibility divided between the commonwealth and the states.

Federal Labor has rejected suggestions it failed to provide the money needed to fully fund the scheme.

“The really disappointing thing now is that it’s on time and on budget but the Liberals are still out there trying to tear it down,” the Member for Lilley told Sky News.

“The NDIS in the 2013-2014 budget was fully funded and it set out very clearly the increase in the Medicare levy, other structural funding changes across other programs, to ensure that over a 10-year period the NDIS was fully funded.

“All these big building blocks of social improvement – NDIS, national superannuation – the Liberal Party just keeps trying to tear them down and that’s what we keep seeing again in the newspapers today.”

Social Services Minister Christian Porter says the government remains fully committed to implementing the NDIS and was working to provide the scheme with sustainable support from budget savings.

The main funding, the increase in the Medicare levy from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent, and cuts to other disability programs will only cover its cost to 2016-17.

“We are not funding the NDIS gap from borrowings or by raising more income tax or any other general levy,” Mr Porter said.

Craig Wallace, president of People With Disability Australia, said he trusted the government’s election commitment to provide for the NDIS.

“We always knew that there was going to be a writedown in revenue from the levy, that it wasn’t going to cover the full cost of the scheme over time,” he told Sky News.

“We always knew there was going to be a need to find more funding from savings measures to fund the NDIS – that the levy wouldn’t cover the full cost of it.

“This is an investment approach, not just an expense.”

Opposition disability reform spokeswoman Jenny Macklin says Labor proposed the commonwealth’s share would be funded by means testing the private health insurance rebate, reforming retirement incomes and unspecified long-term structural savings.

Ms Macklin said the government was misleading the Australian people by suggesting it can’t afford the cost of the NDIS.

“It is a disgraceful attempt to undermine the scheme and increase uncertainty over its future,” she said in a statement.

Additional reporting: AAP