$2b could be redirected from scheme to help 230,000 people, says blueprint

This has worsened as more people with psychosocial disabilities withdraw from the NDIS; Eligibility rates dropped from 78 to 86 percent in the first three years of the program to just 25 percent in 2024-25, according to the report.

Significant inequalities in Australia’s mental health and disability system mean that many people with moderate support needs languish in a no-man’s land between Medicare supports, minimal subsidized options and NDIS packages designed for permanent and long-term disabilities.

Solving the issue is a priority for Health and Disability Secretary Mark Butler, who is trying to return the NDIS to its original purpose before it becomes a $100 billion-a-year item in the federal budget.

The federal government has already taken over the design of a new system for disabled children called Thriving Kids, but the new psychosocial disability scheme has failed to make headway as prime ministers waver on budget commitments as hospital costs soar.

The Grattan Report recommends that they adopt a new scheme called the “National Psychosocial Disability Programme”, which serves 230,000 Australians.

Central to the program will be a new healthcare role of “support facilitator” – healthcare professionals who will work one-on-one with approximately 20 people with psychosocial disabilities at a time.

The facilitator will be authorized to distribute funds in the amount of $3000 per person to cover short-term needs such as specialist medical evaluations or one-time cleaning services for hoarding. They will also refer people to community engagement programs, peer support and recovery colleges.

Existing Primary Health Networks will be tasked with coordinating their services, which will generally be delivered over three years but will vary depending on need.

The aim of the program will be to help people recover and prevent them from needing more intensive disability support. One problem with the NDIS model is that it requires people with mental illness to get worse to get support, and if they get better they lose their benefits.

“Approximately $2.2 billion a year could be directed to fund an ambitious tier of recovery-focused psychosocial support for people outside the NDIS who are currently deprived of these opportunities,” the Grattan report says.

This is equivalent to around a quarter of the anticipated NDIS payments for people with a primary psychosocial disability. At full scale, the program would cost $2.6 billion in 2030-31.

The Grattan report said governments had committed to building better psychosocial supports but “progress has been stalled by conflicting responsibilities, contested roles and fiscal constraints”.

“Governments should reverse the current plan. The need for new funding has led to unnecessary delays,” he said.

Butler said last week that negotiations were still productive despite complaints from some state governments to the contrary.

“There is another full-day negotiation meeting on Monday, which is progressing constructively,” he said.

“There is a lot of participation from all governments because it is in all our interests to do this right, in the interests of our citizens.

“It’s still a little unclear whether we’ll be able to complete this by the end of the year… but we’re all working really hard.”

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