What issues did the community share? | Equity and Inclusion Reference Group meeting bulletin

2 people meeting with a Reference Group member. Above them is a speech bubble with a problem icon in it.

Reference Group members connected with the community to find out about issues that affect them.

A group of participants with a problem icon above them.

This includes issues that affect participants.

A Reference Group member looking at a document with an NDIA worker.

Members shared reports about these issues with the NDIA.

An NDIA worker smiling next to a speech bubble.

People from the NDIA also shared their response to some of these issues.

Changes to the NDIS

A worried person next to a change icon.

Reference Group members said people are worried about how the NDIS laws will change.

A legal document with a change icon on it.

The community does not know how changing the law will affect some parts of the NDIS.

A worried person next to a dollar sign.

People are worried about changes to funding.

An NDIS document with a dollar sign.

Funding is money from a participant’s NDIS plan that pays for the supports they need.

An NDIS plan.

An NDIS plan has information about:

a participant and their goals
what supports a participant needs
what the NDIS will pay for.

A person supporting a participant in the kitchen. A dollar sign is above them and an arrow pointing down is below them.

Members said participants are worried about getting less funding for certain supports.

A person supporting participants to play a guitar.

This includes funding for support to:

build skills
do daily tasks
take part in the community.

A person raising their hand and pointing to themself. A problem icon is above them.

Members said this might affect participants with psychosocial disabilities.

Someone supporting a participant. A brain and a sad face inside a thought bubble are above them.

A psychosocial disability can affect how a person:

thinks
feels
deals with other people.

A problem icon inside a thought bubble above a worried person.

The NDIA said they understand the changes make some people worry.

Parliament House next to a change icon inside a magnifying glass.

But the NDIA also said the Australian Government is still looking at these changes.

A group of people with a speech bubble above them.

The NDIA said the government is still looking for ideas from the community.

3 people raising their hands and pointing to themselves.

They said participants and the community should have their say about these changes.

A pencil writing on an NDIS Plan.

The NDIA also said it will start using a new way to make NDIS plans from April 2027.

2 people looking at a document and a computer.

At the moment the NDIA is testing this new way of making NDIS plans.

Phone calls and plan reassessments

An NDIA worker on the phone. A problem icon is below them.

Reference Group members said there are issues with check-in calls from the NDIA.

An NDIA worker talking to a participant. A speech bubble is above them.

A check-in is when the NDIA talks with a participant about how their NDIS plan is going.

A change icon next to an NDIS Plan.

Members said the NDIA changes NDIS plans after a check-in call.

A participant thinking. A cross inside a thought bubble is next to them.

Participants do not realise these calls will:

affect their funding
cause a plan reassessment.

A change icon inside a magnifying glass next to an NDIS Plan.

A plan reassessment is when the NDIA checks if the supports in an NDIS plan still work well for a participant.

A confused participant.

Members said this can cause participants to:

feel confused
lose trust in the NDIA.

A participant looking at their phone. A cross is next to them.

Some participants also might not answer phone calls from the NDIA.

An NDIA worker on the phone. A tick inside a speech bubble is next to them.

Members said the NDIA should be more honest about why they are calling.

A thumbs up next to a speech bubble.

The NDIA should improve the way it communicates with participants.

A clock.

The NDIS should also give participants more time to get ready for:

check-in phone calls
plan reassessments.

Local Area Coordinators (LACs)

A person speaking in front of a group of LACs. An importance icon is above them.

Reference Group members said Local Area Coordinators (LACs) need better training.

An LAC next to a local area icon.

An LAC is someone who helps people with disability find and use supports and services.

A participant pointing to themself and raising their hand. A cross inside a thought bubble is next to them.

Members said sometimes LACs do not understand:

the needs of participants
the experiences and life of participants.

A person teaching a group of people.

The NDIA said it is setting up a school to train people to do assessments.

An assessment document with information. A disability icon inside a magnifying glass is on it.

Assessments can help work out:

what you need
how to support you.

The school will train:

3 health workers.

bullet people who already have health skills

2 people looking at documents.

bullet people who make and change NDIS plans.end of list

Information about participants

2 people smiling. An information icon is below them.

Reference Group members said the NDIA should collect information about a participant’s gender.

A person pointing to themself. An image of themself is in a thought bubble above them.

Your gender is what you feel and understand about who you are as a person.

There are more genders than only men and women.

You can choose the words that are right for you.

2 people standing closely and smiling.

The NDIA should also collect information about a participant’s sexuality.

2 people holding hands. A love heart is between them.

Your sexuality is about the genders you are attracted to.

A person pointing to themself. Above them is the number '16' next to an arrow pointing up.

Members said participants older than 16 years old should be able to answer these questions on their own.

A person supporting a participant to write.

The NDIA said they have been working on ways to better support participants.

2 people standing closely and smiling. A plan is next to them.

This includes a plan for how it will support LGBTIQA+ participants in the future.

A person raising their arm in front of an LGBTIQA flag. A plus symbol is next to them.

The letters LGBTIQA stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer or questioning and asexual.

The ‘+’ is for people who are part of the LGBTIQA+ community but don’t talk about themselves using a word from this list.

3 people looking at a document.

The community will find out more about these plans soon.

News reports on the NDIS

A news report on a television. A thumbs down is in a speech bubble above it.

Reference Group members said the news talks about changes to the NDIS in a bad way.

A participant giving 2 thumbs down.

This often affects participants and the disability community in a bad way.

An upset participant. A thumbs down is in a speech bubble next to them.

Sometimes people will say bad things about participants that makes them feel:

hurt
upset.

A news report on a television. A thumbs up is in a speech bubble above it.

Members want the news to talk about the good things the NDIS does.

A person supporting a participant.

For example, the ways it helps support participants to live good lives.