Fears NDIS review will urge cutting of clients

Some participants could be moved off the NDIS if recommendations of a key review are implemented, Victoria’s Disability Minister warns.

Victoria’s Disability Minister Lizzie Blandthorn says she is concerned for the future of people being taken out of the NDIS before it is clear what other support services are available to them. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Matray

Some NDIS participants could be moved off the scheme if the recommendations of a key federal government review are implemented, Victoria’s Disability Minister has warned.

Lizzie Blandthorn said she was concerned for the future of people being taken out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme before it is clear what other support services are available to them, and which layer of government is responsible.

Ms Blandthorn said the NDIS review, to be publicly released on Thursday, proposes a new definition of “reasonable and necessary” supports the scheme covers for people with disabilities.

“Changing what is reasonable and necessary can also have the effect of changing eligibility for the scheme … meaning that some people might be removed from the scheme,” she said, in the first explicit acknowledgment the review findings could lead to people being forced off the NDIS.

“I remain concerned about any Victorian who is being moved off the scheme under this proposal … without there being an agreement about what (these) foundational supports will look like and how they’re funded.”

The revelations prompted opposition NDIS spokesman Michael Sukkar to call for the federal government to be upfront about how many people would be kicked off the scheme, or else how much their plans would be cut by.

“Before the election, Bill Shorten promised no NDIS plan would go backwards under Labor and that it was improper for the Coalition to discuss the sustainability of the scheme,” he said.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan casts doubt on a federal-state disability funding deal. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

With national cabinet to discuss the findings of the review and the federal-state response at its meeting in Canberra on Wednesday, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan cast doubt on the prospect of a deal being done for the states to provide more disability supports outside the NDIS.

Ms Allan said any proposed changes to the scheme need further time for consideration.

“The review contains a lot of detail, a lot of material that needs to be worked through to understand that, as we look at what the federally administered … NDIS system looks like going forward,” Ms Allan said. “We are keen to have the time to review what has been received and consider not just the budgetary impact but the impact on people.

“We are having ongoing discussions, and those discussions will continue long after national cabinet finishes tomorrow. The conversations don’t begin and end at one national cabinet meeting or one disability ministers’ meeting. They need to be enduring.”

The Prime Minister hosted premiers and chief ministers at dinner on Tuesday night, ahead of the highly anticipated meeting on Wednesday morning.

State and federal governments received the independent review into the $42bn-a-year NDIS in late October. It is understood to call for more “foundational” services to be provided outside the scheme to those with less severe disabilities, some of those in services funded by the states, in line with its original design.

But Ms Blandthorn said despite repeated requests the states had still not been given sufficient detail on what changes to the scheme might look like, and how children with autism and developmental delay might be better supported outside the NDIS.

Of its 630,000 participants, about 270,000 children are on the scheme with a diagnosis of autism.

“The disability ministers’ council has not been provided with enough information about ‘reasonable and necessary’ and how that’s proposed to be changed or how foundational supports will be defined, and the financial modelling that sits behind that,” she said.

With NDIS costs rising at an average 14 per cent in recent years, national cabinet stepped in in April to impose an 8 per cent cost growth target by 2026. This has led to the cost-shifting argument between the states and the commonwealth.

Federal NDIS minister Bill Shorten. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Ahead of Wednesday’s national cabinet the states tied a change to GST revenue arrangements, worth about $5bn a year to any new NDIS and disability funding arrangement.

ACT Disability Minister Emma Davidson has also declared she will not support any deal that cut autism from the NDIS without significantly ramped-up services elsewhere.

NDIS Minister Mr Shorten said he remained positive a state-federal deal can be done on disability funding.

“I think people of goodwill at the states and all levels of government can work together on this, so I remain quietly positive that some of the changes that need to be made will be,” Mr Shorten said.

“For Labor, we really care about the NDIS, so we’re determined to make sure that it’s sustainable for future generations and delivering for the participants.”

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he recognised there was pressure on state budgets, but said there was also pressure on the federal budget.

“We believe there’s a deal to be done but not a deal at any cost,” he said.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles told The Australian it was important those in the NDIS had “the right support mechanisms in place”.

“The government must be transparent about how many NDIS participants will have cuts made to their plans and how it intends to continue its support for these participants.”