‘Heads should roll’ after NDIS reforms dumped

A plan to tighten eligibility and packages for the NDIS has been dumped, as Labor calls for the disability insurance scheme’s leadership to be sacked.

Labor NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten. Picture: Gary Ramage

A plan to tighten eligibility and packages for the NDIS has been dumped, as Labor calls for the disability insurance scheme’s leadership to be sacked.

Federal NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds confirmed late on Friday that the independent assessments process as it stands will not go ahead after a meeting with state counterparts, and she will now work on a new model to rein in costs.

The Morrison government for months backed the independent assessments proposal by which contracted allied professionals would assess whether a disabled person should be on the NDIS, rather than the current model under which the assessment is based on evidence provided by the participants’ own specialists.

In the days ahead of the meeting, Senator Reynolds acknowledged that the proposals had frightened disabled Australians and foreshadowed a significant redraft.

Opposition NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten said on Friday the policy was now all but dead – following a backlash from the disability sector, states and Liberal MPs – and there should be a clear-out of the NDIS leadership.

Senator Reynolds late on Friday said a new assessment process would take in the view of disabled Australians. “All ministers agreed to work in partnership with those with lived disability experience on the design of a person-centred model … that will deliver consistency and equity of both access and planning outcomes; a model consistent with the assessment requirements under the NDIS Act.”

After the NDIS Ministers Meeting, NSW Liberal Minister Alister Henskens said the group had decided to halt the independent assessments proposal altogether and the states would work with Canberra on a new “person-centred” model.

“We agreed to the co-design of a new person-centred model that delivers consistency and equity in access, and plans outcomes consistent with assessment requirements under the NDIS Act,” Mr Henskens tweeted.

Victorian Labor Minister Luke Donnellan and ACT Labor Minister Emma Davidson also both said the independent assessments process would be binned.

Mr Shorten told The Weekend Australian that National Disability Insurance Agency chief executive Martin Hoffman and chairwoman Helen Nugent should now consider their positions, given the government had backtracked on independent assessments, which they both backed.

“How do they stay when they say this is needed to fix a $60bn blowout and the minister has backed away from it? It puts a cloud over the CEO and the chairwoman,” he said.

“There were also eight contractors to the tune of $350m on this independent assessments process and that’s wasted … this government now has no disability policy.”

The NDIS meeting came as national cabinet decided not to mandate vaccinations for disability care workers, leading to protests from sector leaders.

At least 244,833 first Covid-19 vaccine doses and 212,450 second doses have been handed out so far in residential aged-care and disability care facilities.

National cabinet on Friday announced that all states but Victoria – which is awaiting advice from its chief health officer Brett Sutton – would pass public health orders to ensure aged-care staff were vaccinated, but Scott Morrison said there would only be a “strong” recommendation for disability staff.

National Disability Services Australia senior manager Karen Stace said on Friday the decision to recommend rather than mandate vaccines in the disability sector would only increase anxieties that Covid-19 could soon run rampant in disability care homes and among disabled Australians.

“The vulnerability of people with disability to the worst impacts of the virus has been recognised by the federal government in the past and the move to not provide full protection for these members of the community is a let-down,” she said. “Disability service providers are rightfully anxious the virus could needlessly take hold within our communities and we hope the government reconsiders this decision.”