Families with Deaf and hard-of-hearing children have been encouraged to attend a webinar this week to learn about Foundational Supports which are being implemented outside the NDIS.
Foundational Supports are being developed to provide additional resources outside the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for people with disabilities, their families and carers.
Federal, state and territory governments have also opened a consultation period and are seeking input from the community on how the supports could work. Governments will use this feedback to help make decisions about the initiative.
The Department of Social Services wants to hear from stakeholders such as service providers, people with disability, whether on the NDIS or not, people who might need extra support but don’t identify as having a disability, families, carers and advocates for people with disability. This includes across disability, health, mental health, early childhood, schools and other areas.
The webinar this Friday will cover the different types of support available and how people can contribute to the national public consultations.
Parents of Deaf Children (PODC) said this was an important topic for many of its families as they navigated upcoming changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
“It’s essential for families with Deaf and hard-of-hearing children to be involved in this process to ensure that their needs are well represented,” PODC said. “The webinar will include Auslan interpreters and live captioning to ensure accessibility. We encourage people to participate and make their voices heard.”
The Department of Social Services is running the webinar and has opened a consultation period from 2 September to 30 November.
It said commonwealth and state and territory governments were working together to design and deliver additional supports in the community. People with disability and mental health concerns would be at the centre of this work, along with their families and carers, and the wider community.
“Many people with disability are not on the NDIS,” the department said. “Some of these people may need more help than what is offered through mainstream or community services, like early childhood education, schools and community mental health.
“This is where additional Foundational Supports can assist.
“We want supports that work and meet the needs of people with disability. To do this, we need your help.”
The introductory webinar is an opportunity to find out more about:
- the different types of Foundational Supports
- upcoming opportunities to contribute to national public consultations on Foundational Supports
- information on other opportunities to have your say on Foundational Supports.
This is the first stage of ongoing engagement. People can receive updates on upcoming consultations by subscribing to the Foundational Supports newsletter at this page.
People can have their say about Foundational Supports by completing an online survey, attending in-person and virtual consultation sessions, and contributing to an online ideas wall.
There will be several discussion papers available in accessible formats including Easy Read and Auslan summaries. Other accessible formats can be provided on request.
About 25,000 Australians with hearing impairment receive NDIS support but they receive the least funds among the top five primary disability groups, an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report found earlier this year.
Support amounts differed depending on primary disability of the participant. For participants aged under 65, those with a spinal cord injury had the highest amount of average annualised committed total NDIS supports ($191,600), while those with hearing impairment had the lowest ($16,000).
People can access the Foundational Supports discussion papers as they become available by clicking on a button for the topic they are interested in. More topics are coming soon.
They can also email feedback about Foundational Supports, or request help to make a submission, to foundationalsupports@thesocialdeck.com.
The webinar will be on Friday 20 September at noon (AEST). Register here.
More information is available here.
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