Disabled move is ‘long overdue’, says Martin Laverty

One of the architects of the NDIS has urged the government to do more to get almost 4000 disabled Australians under 65 out of nursing homes and into disability care.

Former National Disability Insurance Agency board director Martin Laverty. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

One of the architects of the NDIS has urged the government to do more to get almost 4000 disabled Australians under 65 out of nursing homes and into disability care after Bill Shorten revealed a new plan to speed up the discharge of disabled people from hospitals.

Martin Laverty, the National Disability Insurance Agency’s board director between 2013 and 2021, said the trend of disabled people winding up in residential aged care had “gone in the wrong direction” over the past decade. “When I joined the board at the scheme’s inception … there were an average of 3000 people with disabilities under the age of 65 ­living in residential care,” Dr Laverty said.

“A decade on, that number is averaging 4000. The NDIS has failed anyone who’s unnecessarily living in residential aged care.

“The poor design of the scheme has meant they’re not able to ­transition into the most appropriate care.”

It follows Mr Shorten – who is responsible for the NDIS – revealing in The Australian on Tuesday the plan to slash the time disabled people were waiting to be discharged from hospital from the current average of 160 days.

Mr Shorten said more NDIS staff would be placed in hospitals to help speed up discharges and challenged the agency to contact an NDIS participant within four days after being informed the individual was ready to leave the hospital. Dr Laverty, who was also a chief executive of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and secretary general of the Australian Medical Association before becoming the chief executive of disability care provider Aruma, welcomed the ministerial intervention, which he said was “long overdue”.

“When a person with disability is in hospital, their risk of infection and other illness is exacerbated,” he said. “So Minister Shorten is dead right in saying our priority must be ensuring someone with disability in a hospital now has to be fast-tracked into accommodation suiting their needs.”

Dr Laverty said the review of the NDIS flagged by Mr Shorten this year should make shifting young disabled people out of nursing homes “a headline outcome”.

Mr Shorten said the issue of people with disabilities being trapped in aged care was one of the key agenda items that would be canvassed at his next meeting with state and territory disability ministers in October. “The evidence shows the former Liberal government wasn’t doing enough on this issue,” he said.

“The Labor government is committed to reducing the number of young people living in aged care.” Dr Laverty also called on the government to overhaul the way it funded disability services and to consider creating a “standby capacity” for extra beds in disability care. “In this market system, you are reimbursed for a service you provide,” he said. “You are not reimbursed for a service on standby. A service provider is not sufficiently encouraged to keep a spare bed available for emergency in the volumes for us to ensure no person with a disability under 65 is moving into aged care.

“In order for service providers to have spare capacity available, there’s got to be incentives.”

The Department of Social Services said the government had committed to those with a disability under 65 living in residential aged care by 2025 if there were exceptional circumstances. A spokesperson said programs totalling about $50m were in place to support young people access disability and health services and increase NDIS capacity to connect with young people.