Delayed NDIS reform report ‘proves probe was rushed’
· Michael West
The delay of a major report into plans to overhaul the $56 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme has been labelled “disrespectful,” as disability advocates plead for participants to be protected from harm.
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A parliamentary inquiry into Labor’s proposed changes will hand down its report on Friday afternoon, after a last-minute decision earlier this week to delay its release.
The Albanese government is trying to claw back billions in savings to stop the NDIS from continuing to grow at an “unsustainable” pace, under changes that will kick 160,000 people off the scheme.
Public hearings have been told by disability groups the reform would lead to people dying, while increasing complexity for support providers.
NDIS Minister Mark Butler has said NDIS changes are set to pass parliament by early July. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)People with Disability Australia interim president Jarrod Sandell-Hay, also an NDIS participant, said he hoped the report acknowledged concerns aired during the inquiry.
“The community is really worried about the harm that this might cause people, we have a lot of potential unknowns,” he told AAP.
“We are willing to work with the government to make sure we do this properly, we want the bill in its current form amended.”
Mr Sandell-Hay said the delayed report showed the inquiry had been rushed.
In a damning submission made on the inquiry’s final day, the nation’s disability ministers warned thousands of people would be left without access to crucial services or would end up in unsuitable places to care for their needs.
The states and territories also warned the changes went beyond previous recommendations made by reviews of the scheme.
NDIS Minister Mark Butler has previously said the changes were on track to pass the parliament by the beginning of July.
Opposition NDIS spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh slammed the extension as “disrespectful” to the community groups and stakeholders that rushed to meet the government’s short time frame.
Opposition NDIS spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh hopes the government is open to amending legislation. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)“I am an optimistic person, so I hope the delay means that the concerns of the disability community, who have said in no uncertain terms that people will die if the bill passes in its current form, have been heard, and that the government will be open to amending the legislation,” she said ahead of the report’s publication.
“If the prime minister and treasurer can listen to the concerns of Australian small businesses and start-ups … then hopefully minister Butler can do the same for the disability community and act on their concerns.”