News

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NDIS receives $105.9 m boost

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National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Minister Stuart Robert announced the $105.9 million in funding for 105 organisations under the NDIS Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program, to build more inclusive communities for Australians with disability, carers and their families.
 
‘The grant round is focused on individual capacity building for people with disability and sees the largest single injection of Government funding into the sector since the rollout of the ILC program,’ Minister Robert said.
 
The ILC grants are not limited to NDIS participants, but to all Australians living with a disability, with the aim to support increased community participation of people with a disability.
 
Grant recipient organisations include:

• Australian Federation of Disability Organisations for their program to build the capacity of people with disability, their families and representative organisations
• Children and Young People with Disability Australia for their National Youth Disability Leadership Program, which encourages the development of leadership and self-advocacy skills for young people with a disability
• Women with Disabilities (Australia) towards their project delivering peer learning opportunities via online peer support. The program will also develop a leadership and mentoring resource kit for women and girls with a disability.

‘The grants represent another important step forward in ensuring people with disability have access to peer support, mentoring and other services that build their skills, knowledge and confidence to be involved with and benefit from the same community activities as all Australians,’ Minister Robert said
 
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) also announced its new Board to commence from 1 January 2020, which comprises nine reappointments and one new member.
 
Minister Robert said the appointments are a result of wide consultation and careful consideration to specialist skills, and will ensure continuity of governance for the NDIS as it moves towards maturity.
 
Despite the RACGP’s recent submission to the NDIS outlining the key role GPs play in streamlining better access for patients with disability and enhancing the role of GPs in the NDIS planning process, the presence of a GP on the NDIA Board is still lacking.
 
Chair of the RACGP Specific Interests Disability network, Associate Professor Robert Davis’ recent comments affirmed the function of the GP’s role in assisting with identification and verification of patients with a disability and assisting their NDIS application.
 
‘It’s a fairly fundamental, practical relationship that GPs have with the whole [NDIS] process ... I think it certainly needs to be acknowledged,’ Associate Professor Davis said.  
 
‘The information provided for the assessment of eligibility for an NDIS plan could be better organised or prepared if GPs were more actively engaged in the process and there was some better education coming from NDIS and directed at GPs.’
 
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disability funding National Disability Insurance Scheme NDIA NDIS

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