The latest NDIS news - without the spin or jargon

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Hi Supporter,

It’s been another busy few weeks here at Every Australian Counts. The NDIS is certainly keeping us all on our toes with very late Friday night changes to the price guide, and critical changes to the Information Linkages and Capacity Building grant program.

We know how busy you are so just in case you missed it - here is what’s been happening.

New inquiry into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission

We’ve all been heartbroken and angry about the terrible stories of abuse and neglect that we have been hearing lately.

Now there is a chance to have your say about what needs to change.

The Joint Standing Committee into the NDIS is holding a super fast inquiry into the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission is the national body set up to register providers who provide services under the NDIS. They are supposed to investigate incidents and take action. The Commission is independent from the NDIA and supposed to act as the scheme’s watchdog.

So the Joint Standing Committee want to know – is it working? And if it isn’t – what needs to change?

The Committee really needs to hear your experiences with the Commission. They also need to hear about your ideas for change.

You can make a submission yourself. Or we can do the hard work for you. You can tell us your stories [[link removed]] and we’ll pull them all together and pass them on for you.

You need to be quick though - submissions close on July 31.

Have your say about the NDIS Commission [[link removed]] The new NDIS price guide

The NDIA released the draft price guide for 20/21 a few weeks ago. And then late last Friday night – and we mean late – they released the final version.

(Well the final until yesterday when they released an updated version.)

This new guide has all the new NDIS prices which come into effect tomorrow.

We are still working our way through all the detail – but a few things jumped out straight away.

First the good news. The NDIA have confirmed that everyone’s NDIS funds will be automatically increased to cover the increase in prices. You don’t have to do anything – this will all happen in the background on July 11.

Now the not-so-good news. The NDIA have admitted they may have been a little hasty in the changes they made to the way providers could charge for group support .

So now what will happen is that the current arrangements for group support will stay in place for a year. At the same time the new arrangements will also be introduced. Providers will be able to choose which pricing method they want to use.

What does all this mean?

It means there will be TWO pricing arrangements for group support running in parallel.

This is likely to be hella confusing for everyone. Most of all participants.

Want to know more about what the changes mean for you? You can check out our quick summary about the new price guide [[link removed]] on our website.

Read more about the new price guide [[link removed]] Corona: a brand new world

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to fill in our NDIS and COVID19 survey. We are summarising all the responses now.

But what is already really clear is that lockdown was a really tough time for lots of people.

But as terrible as it was, lots of people also mentioned that they managed to find some silver linings.

One of those people looking for the silver lining was Lumi Winterson. COVID-19 has given her the chance to work on things she couldn’t before the restrictions and isolation.

In her story [[link removed]] Lumi tells us about her experiences during lockdown. And she gives us all a good reminder to look after ourselves and get support for our mental health if we need it.

Read more about Lumi’s experience [[link removed]] And finally …

Yesterday the NDIA made a very important announcement about the Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) grants program.

ILC is the part of the NDIS that doesn’t get much attention. But it is a vital grants program that provides funding to organisations in the community to do some really important work - like provide independent information and peer support.

The NDIA announced that this important program will now be run by the Department of Social Services instead of the NDIA. And while this doesn’t sound like a big deal, it actually is.

There is very little detail about what this move will mean for people. Particularly people who rely on organisations for independent information and support. Those organisations in turn rely on grants to survive.

We will share more about this big change very soon.

That’s about it for now. Look after yourselves – and each other.

And thank you for all that you do.

Kirsten and the Every Australian Counts team

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