Women to be hardest-hit by sweeping NDIS changes
Advocacy groups have warned disabled Australian women and their families will be unfairly affected by a sweeping rewrite of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
A government inquiry into proposed NDIS changes is expected to hear evidence this week that the access changes, designed in part to stop rising costs, will negatively impact mothers of disabled children, even if they are adults.
According to modeling by the Grattan Institute, around $11 billion of the $16.6 billion savings forecast for 2029/30 will come from eligibility changes, including more detailed assessments.
The changes are expected to reduce NDIS participants to 598,000 in 2030/31; This number corresponds to one-third of the expected figures if no changes are made.
But before the changes fully come into force, the majority of cuts will be made in short-term measures, particularly in social and community participation funds. This means that many clients will rely on their families to participate in daily activities.
“These savings will not be achieved without transferring costs to families and informal carers,” the Grattan Institute said in its submission to the inquiry. he said.
“For many, especially those with more complex needs, community participation depends on the right personalized support.”
Social engagement spending by people with disabilities to access medical appointments, social activities and even work is expected to halve.
Disabled Women Australia has warned that caring responsibilities are likely to shift disproportionately to women, who may have to take time off work to care for disabled friends or relatives.
“When funded amounts fall below actual support costs, the difference will be borne by participants, families and unpaid carers, with predictable gendered impacts,” the advocacy organization said in its submission to the inquiry. he said.
Women now make up more than 71 per cent of all primary carers in Australia.
A 2020 report estimated that replacing free disability care with paid support would cost the government $77.9 billion; This is more than double the NDIS bill for the same period.
The Child and Family Disability Alliance recommended that family and home circumstances be taken into account when considering funding; so people don’t lose their NDIS benefit in situations they can’t afford to switch privately.
If this is not done, the alliance argued that mothers in particular will suffer, and their well-being and participation in the workforce will decrease.
“Current government planning and attention to these areas does not appear to be sufficiently developed ahead of the planned implementation of legislative reform,” the report to the inquiry said. The statement was included.
