Intellectual Disability Reference Group meeting bulletin, 10-11 April 2024
The Independent Advisory Council (IAC) Intellectual Disability Reference Group (Reference Group) met in Adelaide on 10-11 April 2024. They discussed:
What they have heard in their communities.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)’s work on Easy Read NDIS plans.
How NDIS Review recommendations relate to people with intellectual disability.
How the NDIS supports participants to work.
IAC Members and Reference Group Co-Chairs, Ms Sam Paior and Mr Gavin Burner, led the meeting. Ms Paior welcomed Mr Gavin Burner to his new role as Reference Group Co-Chair.
She also shared that Ms Rebecca Falkingham PSM, the Chief Executive Officer of the NDIA, would attend part of the meeting. Members were pleased Ms Falkingham came to hear their reports from the community and share updates on the NDIA’s work.
What Members have heard in their communities
Members discussed issues with planning. They shared that some participants wait a long time for a plan review or their first planning meeting. Members also shared concerns that people with intellectual disability are not always heard in planning meetings.
Members stressed the importance of focusing on a person’s long-term needs, instead of their primary disability. They highlighted issues in how the NDIS and health system support people with multiple disabilities or complex needs. For example, some people with behavioural needs have difficulty getting the right NDIS funding for home and living supports.
Members also raised concerns about recent media coverage of NDIS supports for people in contact with the justice system. Members stressed that all people with disability should have access to the support they need.
Easy Read NDIS plans
NDIA representatives shared an update on the Agency’s work to offer NDIS plans in Easy Read. Members were pleased the NDIA listened to their past advice and are working on new ways they plan to share NDIS plans.
Members explained that Easy Read NDIS plans should not be too long. They should only include information the participant needs and this information should be consistent. Members also advocated for all NDIS plans to include a single page summary of the participant’s funding.
NDIS Review recommendations
Members discussed the NDIS Review’s recommendations. They did so by looking at the recommendations from the point of view of a person on the NDIS participant pathway. They highlighted the importance of balancing a participant’s right to control their NDIS funding with managing risk. Members also stressed the importance of pre-planning in a participant’s journey to access and use the NDIS.
Members had mixed views on the NDIS Review’s recommendations about navigators. Members shared that the NDIA must carefully manage the conflicts of interest of navigators. They also highlighted the benefits of employing navigators from small local organisations.
Supporting NDIS participants to work
NDIA representatives returned to the Reference Group for advice on supporting NDIS participants to work. Members highlighted the importance of participants hearing people like them talk about their jobs and how they found work. These stories show people with disability and their supporters what is possible for their own lives and helps them start thinking about work.
Members also recommended the NDIA work to create different resources for participants, planners and potential employers to use when talking about work. These resources should include information on worker’s rights and advice on changing and growing your career.
More information on the Reference Group
The Intellectual Disability Reference Group will next meet in July 2024. Find out more about IAC and Reference Group 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: