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

Our Council Members shared these issues with the NDIA.

An intellectual disability affects how you:

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

Some participants with intellectual disability who had a NDIS plan for a long time:

• have good plans
• work or study.

But other participants with intellectual disability:

• find it hard to understand and use the NDIS

• don’t know what is in their plan.

Some participants felt worried when:

• the NDIA reviewed their plan

• their plan changed.

It can take a long time for the NDIA to make a decision about someone’s plan.

And some participants find out about their plan in a letter.

This means they must call the NDIA to talk about the decision.

It can cost a lot of money for people to get what they need to apply for the NDIS.

For example, a report from their doctor.

The community thought the information about when the NDIA reassesses plans could be better.

When the NDIA reassesses your plan, they check to see what needs to change.

And the community thinks that the NDIA should be clear when they explain why they change something.

Participants face challenges when they’re ready to leave hospital.

And COVID-19 makes it harder for participants to find and use supports.

Some participants in places far from large cities or towns can’t use their plans.

This is because there are no services where they live.

There needs to be more NDIS training for occupational therapists.

Occupational therapists are people who help you move and use your body to get tasks done.

The community also said that NDIA surveys should be in other languages.

The NDIS took some supports out of its price list.

They were called ‘level 3 high intensity supports’.

People said this might make it harder for people to find and use the supports they need.

Some participants want more information about how the NDIA works out how much services cost.

And participants who manage their own plans want to know how the new prices affect them.

Providers support other people by delivering a service.

This includes supports and services for people with disability.

There are less providers who want to support participants with their complex needs.

And not many providers have the skills to support participants with complex needs.

Some providers in central Australia are becoming guardians of participants.

This means they act and make decisions for the participant.

And more women with disability are asking for support to get away from domestic and family violence.

Domestic and family violence is when you are hurt by someone close to you, such as:

• your partner or ex-partner
• someone who takes care of you
• someone you live with.

Some participants face challenges with finding and using specialist disability accommodation (SDA).

SDA is a NDIS support.

It’s housing for participants who need extra support most of the time.

Some supported independent living (SIL) providers had problems with a COVID-19 support payment.

SIL is help with day-to-day tasks around your home so you can:

• do things for yourself
• learn new skills.

And some communities want new services that speak up for people with disability.