At a National Press Club address, former National Disability Insurance Agency Board Director and Aruma Chief Executive Martin Laverty proposed the appointment of an independent Inspector General to protect and advance rights of people with disability, and to oversee new disability reform.
“The NDIS suffers from lack of system stewardship during a time of intense change. The funding Agency operates blind to the quality standards. State and Territory Governments return to disability services via the Thriving Kids program from October. NDIS eligibility and support needs assessments are being changed.
“Less than half of the Disability Royal Commission recommendations and about a third of the Bonyhady-Paul NDIS Review recommendations have been implemented. Big bang disability system reviews don’t deliver change.
“Instead, the disability system needs a permanent coordinator with statutory independence to hold governments to account, call out system problems and recommend improvements – similar to what we see in the aged care sector,” Dr Laverty said.
Dr Laverty will use a National Press Club Address to urge Parliament to pass the Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill when a Senate Inquiry reports on 14 August.
This will allow new disability policy development to:
- Enable employment for the 260,000 job-ready people with disability.
- Reset State and Territory Government roles as landlords providing often substandard housing to thousands with complex disability.
- Formalise Behavioural Support Practitioners as a self-regulated profession under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s auspice.
- Prevent the emergence of new discrimination by ensuring AI’s development and regulation address the needs of and potential benefits for people with disability.
“The last few years has been dominated by the NDIS cost blow out. New disability policy development can’t commence until legislation resetting the cost base of the NDIS passes the Parliament,” Dr Laverty concluded.
