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

This includes issues that affect participants.

Members shared reports about these issues with the NDIA.

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

Reference Group members said there are not enough services in areas far away from cities and towns.

Participants told members that:

• there are not enough services for certain things – like support to improve how your body moves

• they are worried they will lose their funding if they don’t use it.

Funding is money from your NDIS plan that pays for the supports you need.

An NDIS plan has information about:

• a participant and their goals
• what supports they need
• what the NDIS will pay for.

Members asked the NDIA to support more providers to stay in areas far away from cities and towns.

Providers support people with disability by delivering a service.

The NDIA said it’s working on a program to:

• support the future of support workers

• improve information about issues for some jobs.

The NDIA will start using a new tool for NDIS assessments next year.

The NDIA uses assessments to work out:

• how someone’s disability affects their life

• what funding someone needs from the NDIS.

The community told Reference Group members that the NDIA didn’t share enough information about the tool.

For example:

• how the tool works

• how the people doing assessments will understand the results.

The NDIA said the new tool will make sure the assessment focuses on what a participant can do.

The NDIA also said the new tool will mean participants won’t need to collect as much proof about their disability.

When the NDIA does a plan reassessment, it checks to see if the supports in an NDIS plan still work well for a participant.

Reference Group members said:

• participants should have more time to get ready for their plan reassessment

• the NDIA needs to get better at telling participants about their plan reassessment.

The NDIA said it’s working on ways to improve how it does plan reassessments.

For example, there are people in NDIA contact centres who can make changes to plans straight away.

Sometimes participants need home and living support quickly.

But it can take the NDIA too long to:

• make a decision
• organise a plan reassessment.

Reference Group members said the NDIA needs to make decisions about funding for home and living supports quicker.

Members said funding periods for home and living supports should be 6 months long.

Funding periods tell someone:

• when part of a participant’s funding can be used
• how long a participant’s funding needs to last.

Reference Group members said they want providers who build housing to:

• find out what participants need
• design housing that supports what participants need.

Members are worried about some disability housing providers.

Members said some of these providers will make participants feel like they have to get their other supports from them.

Participants feel like this takes away their choice and control.

Reference Group members said the NDIA should create NDIS plans in Easy Read.

This can help make NDIS plans easier to read for participants with intellectual disability.

The NDIA said it has started to look at ways to make Easy Read NDIS plans.

Reference Group members said some providers don’t use the right pronouns for participants.

Pronouns are the way we refer to someone instead of their name.

For example, she and her.

Members said it’s very important that providers respect:

• people for who they are
• the choices people make about their life.