Toowoomba man Nathan Slachter still waiting for in-home support services, vehicle hire from NDIS after birth of son

A Toowoomba man desperately trying to secure extra funding from the NDIS so he can help raise his newborn son is facing a fresh setback.

A Toowoomba man with a disability says he is still fighting the NDIS to secure necessary supports to be able to help his wife take care of their prematurely-born child.

Highfields resident Nathan Slachter, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, and wife Kerryanne welcomed their son Ezra just before Christmas, with the boy born at 33 weeks.

However the couple, who only brought their son home on Tuesday after a stay at Toowoomba Hospital, is still trying to fast-track extra temporary in-home support services for Mr Slachter through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

News Corp highlighted the pair’s struggles across a series of articles in October and November, which demonstrated the scheme’s lack of urgency in responding to changes in circumstances for participants.

Highfields man Nathan Slachter, pictured with wife Kerryanne, has still be unable to secure extra supports from the NDIS to assist with the birth of their son Ezra.

But Mr Slachter said despite repeated requests, he was told any alterations to his current NDIS plan would need to be delivered through an appeal of his latest plan review in October — which could still take months to reach a decision.

With his son arriving home, the 31-year-old faces the very real prospect of needing to enter respite or hospital care.

In a new setback, the NDIS has also rejected the family’s request for temporary vehicle hire while their current accessible vehicle is repaired.

“It’s blown a head gasket, which means every time we’re going to use it, we have to fill the radiator with water — when we would leave for the hospital, we’d fill it up with water and the vehicle is not going to support that for long,” Mr Slachter said.

“I went to my support co-ordinator on December 18 and asked them to ask my plan manager about the vehicle hire for eight weeks — the NDIA said I needed to submit it as part of my (plan review).

“The kicker is like last time, I don’t have six months to wait for my vehicle to be repaired, I need them to let me use a hire.”

Highfields man Nathan Slachter has still be unable to secure extra support funding from the NDIS to assist with the birth of his and wife Kerryanne's son Ezra.

Mr Slachter said even with his son home from hospital, a lack of a working vehicle would prevent the couple from visiting doctor’s appointments and accessing the outside world.

“We’ve had no movement on this whatsoever (and) we haven’t an answer on (the lack of at all,” he said

“It sends you to breaking point when they’re saying you can’t have a hire vehicle — we’re asking for eight weeks, not 12 months.”

In a statement, an NDIS spokesman said it had reached out to Mr Slachter about the issue of the hire vehicle.

“The National Disability Insurance Agency’s (NDIA) priority is ensuring every participant, including Nathan, has access to the disability-related supports they require,” he said.

“The Agency prioritises requests to ensure a participant’s safety and wellbeing.

“We have reached out to Nathan to discuss the request for car hire and a review of his overall supports.”