The NDIS Amendment Bill - questions and answers

Timelines

Consultation

The NDIS Review

Children and families

Psychosocial

Access

Foundational Supports

Quality and Safeguards

Fraud

 

 

What is the purpose of these changes?

  • The Government is introducing changes to the NDIS legislation to: 
    • create the scaffolding to progress key NDIS Review recommendations. Government will do this with people with disability and the disability community. 
    • clarify the intention of existing legislation. This will improve the delivery of the Scheme now. 
  • The changes address some of the key recommendations from the 2023 independent review of the NDIS. 
  • The reforms are designed to:
    • make the NDIS more about people 
    • ensure every NDIS dollar gets to those who the Scheme was created for. 
  • The new Rules will be implemented in stages. This will happen while other key reforms, like the development and implementation of foundational supports, are made.

How will people with disability be affected by these changes?

  • The legislative changes will ensure a better experience for all Australians with disability, their families and carers.
  • The changes will make it clearer for people with disability to know:
    • whether they are eligible for the NDIS
    • if they are better supported by another system.
  • They will support a better early intervention pathway for: 
    • people with psychosocial disability
    • children under 9 years old who have developmental delay or disability.
  • The changes will also create the basis for a new way of setting budgets. This will give participants greater flexibility and clarity around their funding and how they can use it.

Why is this legislative change needed?

  • The changes address some of the key recommendations from the 2023 independent review of the NDIS. 
  • Many of the ways the Scheme works are embedded in law. These are called NDIS legislation and Rules.
  • The legislation needs to be changed to enable some of the improvements proposed by the NDIS Review.
  • We also need changes to the legislation to allow Government to make new Rules. We need these new Rules to change how the Scheme operates. 
  • The goal is to make better decisions that are fair, transparent and consistent.

Are changes being made to choice and control? 

  • Choice and control is one of the founding principles of the NDIS. That won’t change. It puts participants at the centre of decision-making about their needs and supports. None of the changes in this Bill will change this fundamental principle. 
  • Changes to the NDIS legislation and Rules will make things more transparent. They will help participants make better decisions. 
  • The Rules will also provide participants with:
    • greater flexibility about how they use their NDIS funding to meet their disability-related support needs.
    • better support aligned to the reason they entered the Scheme.
  • Changes to Rules will ensure participants have greater certainty when engaging with the NDIA. 
  • Participants will have   more choice and control of their supports with a flexible budget. This aims to lead to higher rates of social and economic participation for people with disability in their communities.  

What immediate impacts will there be for participants?

  • Many changes in this Bill rely on further Rules being made and/or Ministerial determinations. A Ministerial determination is like a Rule. We will consult with states and territories on Ministerial determinations. The Rules and Ministerial determinations will be developed over time with the disability community. The legislation that is dependent on Ministerial determinations or Rules will have no immediate impact for participants. 
  • Some changes will come into effect immediately (28 days from Royal Assent). There changes are about restoring the Scheme to its original intent. The Bill clarifies:
    • that the NDIA will have to tell participants if they have met access to the Scheme based on the disability or early intervention requirements, or both. This is important for when the early intervention pathway is developed; 
    • what disability-related supports participants can use their NDIS funding for, as set out in the current NDIS Rules and the Applied Principles and Tables of Support (APTOS). This is an agreement between states and territories and the NDIA about responsibilities;
    • participants need to provide information to the NDIA, if asked, as part of an eligibility reassessment process;
    • NDIS supports in a plan relate to the impairment(s) that meet the access requirements;
    • that plan management types can be changed where there is financial risk to the participant, or the plan nominee, child representative or plan manager has not spent NDIS amounts on ‘NDIS supports’; and 
    • there is a strengthened obligation for participants to remain within their funding limit. This change will only come into effect when a ministerial determination is made. 
  • These changes mean participants will receive the right services from the right service system.  
  • The quality and safety improvements will also commence immediately (28 days from Royal Assent). This will make it easier for the Commission to use its compliance and enforcement powers under the Act.

Does this mean my plan funding will be cut? 

  • The Scheme has always been set-up to make changes to a participant’s NDIS funding, as necessary. 
  • A participant’s funding may continue to go up and down in line with their support needs.
  • The Review recommended changes to planning and plan budgets. This will give participants more choice and control of their supports with a flexible budget. 
  • The Government will work in partnership with the disability community to develop the Rules for any changes to the planning process.

Are there changes to review rights under the new planning framework?

  • Under the proposed legislation a decision to approve the statement of participant supports in a new framework plan will continue to be subject to internal and external review.
  • The new planning framework addresses the findings of the NDIS Review that heard there are a number of significant problems with the current planning framework, including that people with the same or very similar support needs too often receive different levels of funding, which undermines trust and confidence in the NDIS. Central to the new planning framework will be a comprehensive needs assessment and new method for generating a reasonable and necessary budget based on the assessment report. 
  • The methodology for how the reasonable and necessary budget is generated will only be finalised after deep engagement with the disability community and subject matter experts. This will be a transparent process to ensure the trust and confidence of the disability community. It will then be set out in a legislative instrument determined by the Minister, that will be designed to be fair and consistent and would be disallowable by the Parliament.
  • For the new planning framework, as with the old framework, a participant’s plan will primarily consist of a statement of goals and aspirations and a statement of participant supports. The statement of participant supports will include a reasonable and necessary budget, stated supports, general supports, a plan period and details of the plan management arrangements.
  • The new planning framework will allow for a much more flexible budget and so if a participant changes their goals or aspirations they will be able to apply their existing budget to meet these new goals and aspirations without needing to go back to the NDIA for approval to change individual line items in a plan or to seek a new plan. This was also a key finding from the NDIS Review.
  • It is expected that discussions with the participant will occur before the needs assessment report is finalised, to confirm that all the information on a person’s support needs has been taken into account. How this works will be part of the work done during codesign.
  • Where a participant identifies that the assessment report does not accurately reflect their needs and circumstances, they can request that a new needs assessment be conducted as part of the review application. This does not mean that the entire assessment will need to be completed again, but this will depend on the information provided by the participant seeking review. If the updated assessment identifies different support needs then this may mean that the reasonable and necessary budget is changed.
  • This means that the focus of internal and external review is on ensuring that the needs of a participant are accurately assessed and reflected in the needs assessment, in order to ensure consistent and fair decision making that will build trust and confidence in the NDIS.

Timelines

Is there a timeline for implementing the NDIS Review recommendations?

  • The NDIS Review called for a 5-year transition.
  • The proposed changes to the legislation are the start. They will enable design and testing of changes with people with disability as further improvements are made to the Scheme. 

Will this legislation make the NDIS more sustainable? 

  • The legislation will:
    • support a better participant experience and outcomes
    • and support the sustainability of the Scheme. 
  • The changes will make sure the Scheme can provide life-changing support for people with disability into the future.
  • National Cabinet set a growth target for the NDIS of 8% by 2026-27. The changes to the legislation and the new NDIS Rule will help the Scheme achieve that target.

Why is the Government making changes now?

  • In December last year, the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers announced there would be new NDIS legislation in 2024. 
  • Many of the changes will only come into effect once the new NDIS Rules have been developed and put in place. This will be done in close consultation with the disability community and states and territories. 
  • The legislative changes will establish the power to make the new Rules, so they’re the first step.

Consultation

What consultation has occurred and with who?

  • The changes address some of the key recommendations from the 2023 independent review of the NDIS.
  • As part of the NDIS Review, there was deep engagement with the disability community. 
  • The disability community helped develop the Terms of Reference for the Review. This was a key step to restore the trust between the disability community and government. 
  • The Review Panel consulted broadly across Australia. They used lived experience from people with disability to inform their recommendations.
  • The Panel:
    • heard from over 10,000 people and organisations
    • received over 4,000 submissions
    • spent over 2,000 hours listening to the stories, ideas, and feedback of people with disability
    • had regular meetings with Commonwealth, state, and territory disability ministers.
  • The Panel used findings from other reviews and inquiries, like the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.  
  • The voices of people with disability will stay at the centre of implementing the changes to the NDIS. 
  • There will be more consultation about the development of the NDIS Rules and other changes.

Why was there no public consultation on an exposure draft of this Bill?

  • The Government will keep the voices and needs of people with disability at the heart of all NDIS reforms.
  • Government spoke with people from the disability community and the NDIS Review Panel before they introduced the Bill.
  • These legislative changes are the first step. 
  • Many of the changes to the Scheme will be made through new NDIS Rules. The Government will work in partnership with the disability community to develop the Rules. 

Will changes to the NDIS be co-designed with the disability community? When will this commence and who will be involved?

  • The Government will keep the voices and needs of people with disability at the heart of all NDIS reforms.
  • The disability community have shaped the findings of the NDIS Review and the ‘Getting the NDIS Back on Track’ by sharing their:
    • thoughts
    • experiences
    • ideas
    • feedback.
  • We will design the next steps with the disability community and state and territory governments.
  • Co-design is how we get better outcomes for people with disability.
  • You can subscribe to the Department of Social Services for updates on the NDIS reforms - https://engage.dss.gov.au/subscribe-for-updates-to-the-ndis-reforms/

The NDIS Review

Does this Bill mean the Government has agreed to the recommendations of the NDIS Review?

  • The Government is considering the recommendations of the NDIS Review. It has not yet issued a formal response.
  • This Bill responds to National Cabinet’s agreement to legislative change. It is an initial response to the NDIS Review’s findings.
  • Government will release its full response to the Review later in the year.

When will other NDIS Review recommendations (not addressed in this Bill) be pursued? 

  • Government is considering all the recommendations made by the NDIS Review. 
  • Government will release its full response to the Review later in the year.

Children and families

I am the parent of a 5-year-old child with developmental delay who is in the NDIS. Do the changes in this Bill mean my child will no longer receive support from the Scheme?

  • This Bill does not change a child’s participant status or remove their access to the NDIS.
  • There will be a new early intervention pathway for children who enter the Scheme under the early intervention requirements (s.25).
  • There will be targeted early intervention support for children. 
  • We will work with the disability community to develop the new early intervention pathway. 

What will the new early intervention pathway for children with high support needs look like?

  • We will work with the disability community to develop a new early intervention pathway.
  • When the new early intervention pathway is implemented, the supports your child receives will be tailored to their needs.

Psychosocial

How will the changes affect people with psychosocial disability’s access to the NDIS?  

  • This Bill does not change your participant status or remove your access to the NDIS.
  • We will work with the disability community to consider the recommendation in the NDIS Review about a new early intervention pathway for people with psychosocial disability.

Access

Will existing participants be removed from the NDIS under the new changes and will there be extra support in the period immediately after this?

  • The Bill does not change your participant status or remove your access to the NDIS.

Foundational Supports  

When will foundational supports be implemented? 

  • The Review sets out a 5-year implementation plan for changes to the NDIS and improvements to the broader ecosystem. 
  • Last year, National Cabinet agreed to design additional Foundational Supports. These will be jointly commissioned by the Commonwealth and the states.
  • Earlier this year, the Government announced $11.6 million to support the development of a Foundational Supports Strategy.
  • There will be a phased approach to designing and delivering foundational supports. Services are expected to will be commissioned from mid-2025, and progressively scaled to full roll out by mid-2027.
  • Foundational supports will improve access to evidence-based supports for people with disability in community settings and better connect them to the mainstream services that all Australians rely on.

Quality and Safeguards

What will the NDIS Commission do with its additional compliance powers?

  • The changes to quality and safeguarding are designed to:
    • protect people with disability against exploitation
    • combat fraud in the Scheme. 
  • These are immediate measures. They will improve the scope and powers of the Quality and Safeguards Commission. This will give Government time to consider the findings of the NDIS Review and the Disability Royal Commission.
  • The changes will help the NDIS Commission to better administer parts of its compliance and enforcement powers.    

What do the changes about quality auditors mean?

  • Quality auditors play an important role in safeguarding participants. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner (the Commissioner) will make a Rule that means an approved quality auditor does not employ or engage a person who has a banning order. 
  • This will stop banned persons from being able to move from the NDIS market system into the role of an Approved Quality Auditor. 

Why increase the number of Commission officers with compliance powers? 

  • The Government wants to ensure when we discover bad behaviour, we can act on it. 
  • The Commissioner will have the power to delegate compliance and enforcement powers and functions to more of the skilled officers in the Commission. 
  • This will make it easier for the Commission to use its compliance and enforcement powers under the Act.

Fraud

We have heard the Minister talking about fraud and pricing – why hasn’t this been included in the proposed Bill?

  • Cracking down on fraud remains a priority for the Australian Government. The NDIA continues to take a range of actions to detect and address fraud using existing legislation.
  • Responding to the NDIS Review’s recommendations around pricing also remains a priority. The Government expects to make further decisions about that in future. 
  • The Government announced a Fraud Fusion Taskforce (the Taskforce) in October 2022 to strengthen fraud detection and better safeguard the NDIS from serious organised crime and other fraudsters. 
  • The Taskforce allows better intelligence sharing, identification and response by the NDIA, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, Services Australia, other program departments, law enforcement agencies and other regulators to fraud perpetrated by those seeking to exploit the Government’s system of social supports. 
  • It is expected that this Taskforce will, over time, reduce the amount of money lost to fraud and take criminal, regulatory and administrative action against those who seek to take advantage of NDIS participants.

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