All You Need to Know About NDIS

October 8, 2019 | Posted by David Preston | in NDIS Providers

What is NDIS?

NDIS stands for National Disability Insurance Scheme. It is a brand new support system devised for those Australian citizens having a permanent or significant disability. Through the NDIS insurance program, the disabled get the opportunity to build skills that are mandatory to perform day-to-day tasks as well as get engaged with the community and even rejoin the workforce.

It is worth noting that in Australia, the number of disabled citizens is a whopping 4.3million, which makes programs like the NDIS a liability and responsibility of the government. As per the year 2016 report from the Productivity Commission on Government Services, about 29.7% out of $8.0 billion that was spent on provision of specialist disability services between 2014 and 2015 was provided by the government. This shows the government understands the issues pertaining to disabled populace in the country. The rolling out of the NDIS in 2016 is part of the same process of uplifting the disabled citizens to make them productive part of the society and improve their quality of life.

It is believed that when the NDIS program gets rolled out fully, it will be able to provide funding to 460,000 Australians below the age of 65 having any permanent or significant disability. The funding will be provided for supports and services. It is indeed first of its kind disability support program rolled out by the Australian government, the fruits of which are yet to be yielded.

What is the objectives and principles?NDIS Brisbane Providers

The National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, also known as NDIS Act is the primary legal framework used to design the rules, principles, and operational details for the NDIS in 2016. The fundamental principle on which the NDIS was based is that the program must provide disabled population choice and control over their lives. The funds, therefore, can be used by the participants of the program for purchasing services that are in accordance with their lifestyle and aspirations.

It must be noted that as per the Australian law, the NDIS program is required to offer “reasonable and necessary” supports for helping the participants enjoy more independence in making their life choices. The reasonable and necessary types of supports are determined by the NDIS agency, the main statutory agency the primary job of which is to administer the scheme and/or its contractors.

There are two categories of the NDIS program- the Individual Support Package (ISP) and the Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program. The ISP packages are offered to roughly 475,000 people having high levels of assessed needs. The ICL program, conversely, aims to support all the 4.3million disabled Australian citizens between age 16 and 65.

The main objectives of the NDIS Brisbane program include:

  • To encourage and support the social, economic participation and independence of disabled citizens
  • Provision of reasonable and necessary supports that should include early intervention supports for all of its participants
  • Enable disabled people to pursue their goals and exercising choice and control in this regard
  • To plan and deliver supports for the disabled
  • Facilitate development of a consistent national approach to the access, planning, and funding of supports for the disabled population
  • Providing and promoting innovative and high quality supports to the disabled populace

It aims to provide all the people with some permanent or significant disability easy access to and information about community-based services. This includes support groups, medical consultants and doctors, sports clubs, schools, and libraries. Furthermore, the NDIS aims to help people with disability in:

  • Acquiring easy access to key services like education, health and housing
  • Acquiring easy access to community services including libraries, sports clubs, etc.
  • Retain information supports from friends and family

The NDIS follows an insurance-based approach wherein actuarial analysis is carried out to understand the type of supports required by people with disability. It is a fact that no two people are the same and so are their aspirations. Two individuals with the same disability may have completely different goals in life, such as one might want education while the other may want to get employed. The basic objective of the NDIS program is to devise program and packages that cater to the diverse needs and aspirations of people with disability.

Eligibility Criteria for NDIS Brisbane:

The NDIS has been established with the aim to improve the expectations and career outcomes of people with disability in the later part of their life by investing in the initial stages of their lives. The long-term disability care and support program of the NDIS is expected to reach out to 460,000 citizens below 65-years of age with a disability.

What is the NDIS replacing?

The NDIS will replace the current disability care and support system that is offered under the National Disability Agreement. At the moment, the Australian Government is responsible for the provision of employment services for people with disability as well as giving states and territories the necessary funding to meet the NDA objectives. It must be noted that the state and territory governments are liable for providing specialist disability services including accommodation support, community support, respite care, community access, and advocacy and information support for people with disability.

The idea of establishing the NDIS is a result of the Productivity Commission’s report in 2011. In the report, the Commission recommended that there should be a coherent and unified national scheme in Australia that should replace the current NDA system and offer long-term funding, quality care and support for people with permanent or significant disability. The Commission deemed the existing system to be underfunded, fragmented, unfair and largely inefficient because it offered people with disability little choice and uncertain access to “appropriate supports.” Soon after the report from the Productivity Commission was released, the Gillard Government started working with the state and territories to establish the NDIS. On July 1, 2013, a trial phase was initiated known as the NDIS Launch, and in 2016 the first official phase of the NDIS was launched.

How Creative Quality Solutions help NDIS Brisbane Providers

Creative Quality Solutions is the leading provider of quality management systems and with the recently introduced Quality Safeguard Framework is going to further enhance the transition to the new Standard for NDIS Brisbane providers. Creative Quality Solutions can help NDIS Brisbane providers in refining, updating, and seamless operation of the system, especially for smooth conducting of the NDIS Compliance Audit. It is very important to keep upgrading your system because the compliance requirements are constantly evolving, making it important to seek favourable modifications in the current system.

Creative Quality Solutions can help in smooth transition to the latest practice requirements of the Standard. The team of qualified and experienced consultants at Creative Quality Solutions can also assist you in mapping the mandated requirements against your existing compliance requirements and help in implementing the updated system or upgrading the current system. Furthermore, the team can assist in NDIS Compliance Audits because of their previous experience with many high-profile not-for-profit organisations. With Creative Quality Solutions sustainability in the utterly competitive environment can be ensured through efficiency and engagement. Contact Creative Quality Solutions for further information on how NDIS Brisbane providers can benefit from our services.