States tell Albanese government that NDIS changes could mean people with disabilities are shifted into hospitals | National disability insurance scheme
State and territory disability ministers have sounded alarm bells over the Albanian government’s proposed overhaul of the NDIS, warning they will not be able to provide “similar services” to more than 200,000 participants expected to be removed from the scheme by 2031.
The Albanian government’s bill for a national disability insurance scheme is designed to significantly hinder the growth of the $50 billion annual scheme, first by reducing budgets and then by reducing the number of people who will be able to access this insurance from 2028.
The legislation is being examined by a Labor-led Senate committee, which will make recommendations next week.
In a joint submission to the NDIS inquiry on Thursday, states and territories agreed it was important to curb the growth of the program but warned the target should not be prioritized over participant safety, wellbeing and life outcomes.
Disability ministers said they were “not meaningfully consulted” on the proposed change and were concerned that unilateral powers given to the federal NDIS minister “signaled a wider move away” from shared management.
Department modeling shows more than 240,000 participants are expected to be removed from the NDIS in the four years after new eligibility rules are introduced in 2028.
Disability ministers criticized the lack of “clearly defined alternative supports” and said it created “the risk of shifting unmet needs and costs onto state and territory systems (including health, education and justice) that are ill-equipped for growing demand and unable to provide similar services to the NDIS.”
“Without a careful and coordinated approach that aligns these changes with wider improvements across the disability support system, there is a significant risk that disabled people will end up in hospitals or other settings that are inappropriate and unable to meet their needs, or be unable to access services at all,” the presentation said.
“The states and territories are not in a position to provide similar services to people leaving the NDIS and have not made any agreements.”
Planned 50% cuts to social and community engagement budgets will increase isolation and discrimination and create “unsafe situations” for NDIS participants, a Senate inquiry has been told.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler refused to address the concerns on Thursday when asked whether the government was ready to reassess the scale of cuts.
“The plan I announced weeks ago… and it was part of the budget the treasurer presented in May, was a very well-developed plan that thought carefully about how we could get the NDIS back on track, secure it for the long term, but still keep disabled people at its heart,” Butler said.
He rejected the need to extend the Senate inquiry, reaffirming his hope that the legislation would be passed before parliament reconvenes for the winter recess on July 2.
