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

Our Council Members shared these issues with the NDIA.

Council Members shared that the community is happy with our Work Plan for 2022 to 2023.

Our Work Plan explains the work we will do each year.

Council members explained that people don’t know how the NDIS Commission supports participants.

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

Some people also think the NDIS Commission might give them less support.

But this is not true.

Council Members talked about the NDIS Workforce Capability Framework.

The framework explains how people must behave when they support NDIS participants.

Council Members explained how the framework can help participants know what to expect from their services and supports.

Council Members explained that the NDIA has a chance to stop people doing the wrong thing with funding.

Some people are more at risk than others.

This includes:

• women with disability

• people with disability who come from different backgrounds.

Council Members think the NDIA should hire more people with disability.

This includes people with intellectual disability.

An intellectual disability can affect how you:

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

The NDIA has a chance to show other organisations they can do this too.

Council Members also explained that the NDIA is starting a First Nations Advisory Group.

They will give advice to the NDIA Board about issues that affect First Nations peoples.

It is important that we work together with the First Nations Advisory Group.

Council Members also shared that the community want the NDIA to share how many participants have died from COVID-19.

Council Members explained that people with disability need support to find and keep a job at different times in their life.

Not just when they are young.

We will talk about this when we give our advice to the NDIA about ‘Participants who are ageing’.

Organisations who hire people with disability need to be more inclusive.

When something is inclusive, everyone feels:

• included
• like they belong.

This includes:

• businesses

• governments.

They should share more information in:

• plain English

• Easy Read.

Council Members also explained that some people who support participants need more training to support people with disability.

Support workers need more training to meet the needs of people with disability who need support with their mental health.

Local area coordinators (LACs) also need more training to support people with disability.

An LAC is someone who helps people with disability:

• join and use the NDIS
• find community services.

Council Members explained that some local councils lock accessible playgrounds.

When something is accessible, it is easy to:

• use
• move around in.

They lock playgrounds because they worry people will damage them.

Local councils should understand it can be hard for parents of children with disability to get to an accessible playground.

And when the playground is locked, they can’t use it.

Council Members explained that the support the NDIS provides changes when children are 6 years old.

But the NDIA does this in different ways.

Council Members think there should be one way to do this.

Sometimes children need evidence of their disability to take part in the NDIS.

Evidence is proof that something is true.

Getting evidence can cost a lot of money.

Council Members think this is not fair.

And it costs a lot of money because there isn’t another way to get the evidence families need.

Council Members worry about how the NDIS stops providing support to children.

Sometimes the NDIA doesn’t tell families that it will happen.

And they don’t help them find other supports.

Council Members worry about participants who might get less funding for their plan in the future.

Council Members explained that some participants get a plan for 3 years.

But their funding is for supports that only last part of that time.

Some participants manage their own plan.

But sometimes the NDIA changes their plan so someone else manages it.

Sometimes the NDIA does not tell participants that:

• this will happen
• they can ask the NDIA to check their decision was right.

Council Members shared that people are happy with how the NDIA communicates with the community about planning in the north of Australia.

Council Members explained that a lot of people want to build Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in the north of Australia.

SDA is accessible housing for people with disability.

But the SDA they want to build does not:

• meet the needs of participants

• let participants choose where they live.

Builders should talk to the disability community about where to build SDA.