Our IAC Members connect with the community to find out about issues that affect them.

Our IAC Members shared these issues with the NDIA.

Participants are people with disability who take part in the NDIS.

IAC Members shared that people worry about participants losing a new support in their NDIS plan.

This might happen when they get a new support before their plan starts over again.

Machado-Joseph disease is a disability that affects how you:

• move your body
• speak
• swallow.

IAC Members shared that some participants with Machado-Joseph disease have:

• lost supports from their NDIS plan

• less funding for supports.

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

For example, they might get less support from support coordinators.

A support coordinator is someone who helps participants plan and use their supports.

IAC Members shared there are issues with how the NDIA keeps track of when they reviewed a decision.

And how this affects when they make new plans.

When the NDIA reviews something, they check to see what:

• works well
• needs to be better.

IAC Members explained there were issues with testing the NDIA’s new computer system in Tasmania.

For example, payments taking too long.

IAC Members shared that people have different ideas about how well support coordinators work.

But they are an important support for some people with intellectual disability.

An intellectual disability can affect how you:

• learn new things
• solve problems
• communicate
• do some things on your own.

IAC Members shared that the community worry about people with public guardians.

They worry that in Victoria these people can't speak up for themselves.

A guardian is a person who acts and makes decisions for you.

The government chooses a public guardian if your guardian can’t be your:

• family member
• friend.

People with public guardians have to go to court when they want to speak for themselves.

And people worry this happens all around Australia.

IAC Members shared they have had good meetings with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (NDIS Commission) about their work.

The NDIS Commission makes sure people with disability who take part in the NDIS:

• are safe
• get good services.

IAC Members explained that people aren’t sure about the NDIA’s rules about how much supports cost.

They want the NDIA to be stricter about some supports.

IAC Members shared people are happy about the NDIA’s work in the Northern Territory.

They supported participants who had to leave their homes because of floods.

This happened in places far away from cities and towns.

IAC Members shared that NDIS call centres don’t give the same information to participants.

And this doesn’t help participants.

IAC Members explained that older people with disability need more support to find the care they need.

This includes when they need support towards the end of their life.

IAC Members also explained there should be more information to support participants who manage their own funding.

This includes guides from the NDIA.

IAC Members shared there needs to be more information about how participants can use their supports in hospital.

And that some Hospital Liaison Officers (HLOs) don’t always give the same advice.

HLOs help hospitals support people with disability to get the support they need.

IAC Members shared that some young participants lose supports they need when the NDIA reviews their plan.

Even when they have enough proof that they need the support.

This happens more to participants who need more support with finding a job after school.

IAC Members shared that it takes a long time to connect children in foster care with their:

• NDIS plan
• supports.

Foster care is when a child lives:

• in a home with a family they do not know
• with people who look after children who might not be safe.

IAC Members explained that it helps children to develop when parents learn from parenting classes.

People worry that parents think this is less important than supports for their child.

And it can be harder to get this support in a child’s plan.

Specialist disability accommodation (SDA) is housing for people with disability who need extra support most of the time.

The NDIA will review how much SDA costs.

IAC Members worry that the NDIA might think SDA costs less than it actually does.

This will affect people who build new SDA.

They might not be able to build SDA that suits the need of one participant.

The NDIA must also make sure this helps SDA providers focus on supporting participants.

At the moment some focus on earning money.

Providers support people with disability by delivering a service.

IAC Members shared that the NDIA understands more about how SDA works.

And they use this information when they make decisions about how much SDA should cost.

IAC Members explained that some participants living in SDA face issues when other people leave.

This includes getting less support from providers.

IAC Members shared that some participants who ask for SDA support don’t hear back for 2 years.

They want the new computer system to help the NDIA make decisions quickly.

IAC Members explained people worry that decisions about NDIS plans aren’t always the same.

This includes decisions about SDA.

For example, some participants can't get the SDA support they need in their plan.

But they get more funding in their NDIS plan without asking for it.

IAC Members shared that the government has explained how much money they plan to give the NDIS.

The community feels hopeful about how much money the NDIS will get.

This includes organisations who work with people with disability.

IAC Members shared that the community are looking forward to information sessions the NDIA will run.

These sessions will share information about Justice Liaison Officers (JLOs) in the Northern Territory.

JLOs support prisons to understand how the NDIS can support people with disability in prisons.

IAC Members shared that the NDIA doesn’t always have the right information about participants.

And that there have been issues with the Independent Expert Review program.

In this bulletin we call it the program.

The program is a new way to review decisions for participants.

In the program, a person who doesn’t work for the NDIA reviews the NDIA’s decision.

They do this before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) reviews the decision.

The AAT is a government organisation that is separate to the NDIS.

They check the NDIA’s decisions about:

• who can join the NDIS
• NDIS plans.

IAC Members explained that the community wants the NDIS Review to share more information about their work.

The Australian Government is checking the NDIS to find out what:

• works well
• could be better.

They call it the NDIS Review.

This means the community can stay up to date on information about the NDIS.