Australia is failing on early intervention for children with disabilities: NDIS Review interim report

Former NDIS minister says the government should keep co-payments, eligibility changes and other structural reforms to the $40bn-a-year scheme ‘on the table’.

Annette Anderson with son Axel, who has complex intellectual and physical disabilities, has been fighting for funding through the NDIS for many years. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Former NDIS minister Linda Reynolds says the government should keep co-payments, eligibility changes and other structural reforms to the $40bn-a-year scheme “on the table”, rather than focus its energies on fraud which is “not the main driver of cost”.

The West Australian senator – who held the portfolio for the ­National Disability Insurance Scheme between 2021 and 2022 – said proposals on how to make it more sustainable should all be considered by Labor.

“At the early parts of this discussion, all options should be on the table,” she told The Weekend Australian.

“It will require a measured community discussion.”

A company involved with the NDIS, Kismet, this week revealed in The Australian its proposal to the NDIS review for co-payments and means testing to be looked at – but the proposal was promptly shot down as a “lazy reform” by NDIS Minister Bill Shorten.

Senator Reynolds said the government too quickly invoked its crackdown on fraud when asked how it would deliver its savings to the NDIS, which she said was not a realistic way to make the scheme sustainable.

She said the government ­needed to make the states ­contribute more to the scheme and “share liability” for any cost blowouts.

“Every dollar of taxpayers’ money must be well spent and ­accounted for, and fraud of the scheme must be addressed, but it’s not the main driver,” she said.

“It’s important, but addressing fraud more comprehensively will not make the scheme ­sustainable.”

A spokesman for Mr Shorten said Senator Reynolds calling for an open mind on the co-payment “tells you everything you need to know about the unfairness and stupidity of this ill-conceived ­policy proposal”.

“Senator Reynolds’ claim that the government is too focused on fraud and doing too much to crackdown on thieves ­stealing from the scheme is genuinely breathtaking,” the spokesman said.

“It is a betrayal of taxpayers, an insult to participants, a surrender to criminals and a reflection of a trademark lack of judgment.

“Senator Reynolds managed to distinguish herself as the single-worst NDIS minister in the history of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government. The only people who were sad to see her go were the crooks and fraudsters who prospered on her watch.”

Mr Shorten has said he was confident Labor can reign in growth of the scheme to 8 per cent a year by addressing inefficiencies in the system, cracking down on fraud and rorting, improving technologies and reducing the frequency of plan reviews.

Opposition spokesman for the NDIS Michael Sukkar said Labor had “no credible plan” to deliver its expected $74bn in savings to the scheme over the decade and was being dismissive of proposals.

“With one saving idea after ­another being ruled out, many are wondering how on earth Labor proposes to cut the scheme,” he said.

The NDIS review on Friday handed down its interim report and found its sustainability was being “undermined” by a range of factors, including the lack of supports outside the scheme.

NDIS review co-chair Bruce Bonyhady said the absence of services for disabled Australians outside of the scheme created a system that was “deeply unfair”.

The report found that the definition of “reasonable and necessary” supports, which the NDIS Act says the scheme must provide to participants, was unclear.

“While the criteria for ‘reasonable and necessary’ have deliberately been kept broad to make sure support can be tailored to the individual, it has made it difficult for NDIA decision-makers to make consistent decisions,” the report says.

Bruce Bonyhady, NDIS Chair.