Mind Australia welcomes the announcement of more time for the Government to consider the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill to ensure people with psychosocial disability have fair and equitable access to the Scheme.
At the Senate Committee hearing we explained that people with psychosocial disability face being disproportionately impacted by some aspects of this Bill and that it should not pass in its current form.
People with psychosocial disability are already not getting into the NDIS at the rates that were intended. These new provisions will only serve to create further barriers that specifically impact people who experience a disability arising from their mental health condition.
In particular, we explained that removing environmental and personal circumstances from assessments of functional capacity would not work for people with psychosocial disability. How a person interacts with their environment can be central to understanding their disability support needs. These circumstances must be considered so people with psychosocial disability are not unfairly excluded or disadvantaged when seeking NDIS support.
We also argued that requiring people to exhaust all treatment options before their disability is considered permanent could harm people with psychosocial disability. We called for a different approach that excludes treatments that are intrusive, traumatic, or carry unreasonable health risks.
We thank the Senate Committee for listening to our concerns, some of which have been reflected in the interim report, released earlier this week.
However, we remain deeply concerned that if the Bill passes in its current form, people with psychosocial disability will continue to have their access denied and their support needs unmet. Without further investment in other supports, there is nowhere else for people to turn to.
The Senate now has eight weeks to further consider the Bill. During this time we will keep advocating for the changes we and our community want to see in how the NDIS assesses people with psychosocial disability.
We want to thank all of the people who have contributed to our advocacy and for sharing your experiences with us.
If you’d like to connect with us to share your experiences of the NDIS, please contact [email protected]