IAC meeting bulletin, 15 April 2024
The Independent Advisory Council (IAC) to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) met online on 15 April 2024. They discussed the progress of their Advice for the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Board, as well as:
what Members have heard in their community
NDIS legislative reform
co-design.
IAC Member Ms Sylvana Mahmic led the meeting. She welcomed representatives from the NDIA Board and strategic leadership team.
What Members have heard in their community
Members discussed general delays with planning. They also noted systemic issues with NDIS supports, especially for home and living and children and young people. Members stressed the importance of equity and inclusion for children and young people.
Members highlighted that some established community-based disability services are facing issues that impact participant outcomes. This includes staffing issues, as well as closure and funding uncertainty. Some of this funding uncertainty is related to the ending of the Information Linkages and Capacity Building programs.
Members said that improved engagement and sharing of accessible information with the community is important. It would reassure the sector about the NDIS legislative reforms. Similarly, they noted the need to improve community understanding about NDIA co-design.
Members also raised concerns about recent media coverage of NDIS provider abuse and NDIS supports for people in contact with the justice system. Members stressed that all people with disability should have safeguards and access to the support they need.
They also shared that plans, supports and services for participants may benefit from the use of innovative and inexpensive artificial intelligence solutions.
NDIS legislative reform
The IAC and NDIA representatives discussed the proposed NDIS legislative reforms. These have been introduced to Parliament as part of the NDIS Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No 1) Bill 2024.
Members raised concern about the:
new rule-making powers that aim to clarify how access criteria should be applied.
the legislation’s proposed definition of ‘NDIS support’ (section 10), that will set out what you can and cannot spend your NDIS funding on.
Members commended the NDIA’s work with the IAC to better explain the legislative reforms and likely timeframes. They urged the Agency to share more explanatory information with the public in plain English. They noted that more time should be taken to include the disability community in how proposed changes to laws may affect them, and how new rules and processes are developed using true co-design.
Co-designing reform
The IAC and NDIA representatives discussed the Agency’s proposed co-design approach. The approach aims to align the NDIA’s co-design, consultation and engagement practices with the expectations of the disability community.
Members said it was important to:
learn from and build on the strong co-design work already done by the Agency
use co-evaluation as part of co-design
have more diverse people involved in co-design
give co-design projects the time they need to be done right.
More information on the IAC
The IAC will next meet on 21-22 May 2024. Find out more about IAC meetings and bulletins at the IAC website. The IAC publishes an Easy Read version of this bulletin. This is part of its commitment to accessibility.
Information in Easy Read
You can also read this bulletin in Easy Read: