The latest NDIS news - without the spin or jargon

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Hi Supporter,

It’s been a busy start to 2020 here at Every Australian Counts!

Some fantastic breaking news…

Minister for the NDIS Stuart Robert announced this morning that NDIS participants will be able to use their core funds to pay providers for transport.

We hear about transport at every single Make it Work forum we hold. And while we know that this won’t fix things for everyone, things are certainly moving in the right direction (all puns intended!).

There wasn’t a lot of detail announced today – we are chasing more info right now. We have posted what we have on our website and we will keep updating when we can.

Find out what today’s changes mean for you [[link removed]] Tune review: what’s happening?

Politicians returned to Canberra today for the first Parliamentary sitting of the year. They’ll be sitting for the next two weeks - which we think is more than enough time to tell us what they plan to do about the findings of the Tune review into the NDIS.

Rumour is that the government plans to respond in the next couple of weeks. We’ll let you know as soon as it is released.

And if they don’t, we will all need to make sure the Minister knows he can’t sweep yet another report under the carpet. We have an idea what we can do about that – so watch this space.

In the meantime, we’ve cut through the jargon to summarise what the Tune review found. But spoiler alert – there were no surprises!

Find out what the Tune Review said [[link removed]] Help us tip the balance!

Thank you to everyone who has already sent in their NDIS story – the good the bad and the ugly. We are using these stories to create a gallery to show politicians what’s working and what isn’t in the NDIS.

For Julian (in the picture above) support from the NDIS has helped him with his weekend job at the canteen. And now he has just finished school, it is helping him find a job and set him up well for the future.

Support from the NDIS has allowed Peter to afford hydrotherapy and specially designed routine with a personal trainer, which he says has helped slow down the progress of his disability.

But Sarah’s story is far less encouraging – she has found it allows far less flexibility and choice than she needs.

These are just three of your stories in the Tipping the Balance gallery. But we need even more so that politicians hear straight from participants how the NDIS is tracking – and what needs to change.

We want to make sure we send a strong message that we want to tip the balance in favour of the good stories to get the scheme working for everyone the way it should.

You can go to the Tipping the Balance page on our website and add your story. We’d love you to leave a photo as well!

Visit our Tipping the Balance page [[link removed]] Facebook poll reminder!

This year we’ll be using our Facebook page to ask your views on the big NDIS issues – in real time. That could include your views on issues such as how long you have had to wait for equipment from the NDIS or how long you have had to wait for a plan.

The polls will help us prepare the Every Australian Counts submission ahead of the Budget in May. More importantly, everybody will be able to see the results – and comments.

So, if you haven’t already, hit that like button on our Facebook and make sure you’re following us so we can let you know when the first poll is up and running.

Join us on Facebook [[link removed]] More Royal Commission Hearings announced

The next hearings held by the Royal Commission into Violence Abuse Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability kick off in Sydney on Monday February 17.

The Sydney hearing is looking into health care for people with a cognitive disability, including people with intellectual disability, autism and acquired brain injuries.

The Commission will also hold a couple of community forums [[link removed]] this week in Queensland.

The Commission has also released a number of discussion papers which you can find on the Commission website.

Find out more on the Commission's website [[link removed]] A big AAT win for Jake – and all NDIS participants with complex needs

In some news you may have missed in the Christmas rush, a young man called Jake had a big win at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) – a win that has implications for many NDIS participants.

Jake is a young man with complex needs, and he won a three-year-long battle with the NDIA at the AAT. The AAT found that Jake’s NDIS plan left him worse off than his previous funding.

This decision says that reasonable and necessary support should be funded, even if the participant is willing to agree to compromise with the NDIS to get an outcome.

Our good friends at VALID supported Jake through his battle and have written a great summary of the case and what it means for other participants. You can read it on our website.

Read a summary of the case here [[link removed]]

That’s it for now. Make sure you stay in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter so you can get all the news as it breaks.

And thank you again for everything you do.

Kirsten and the Every Australian Counts team

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