People with Disability Australia (PWDA) is concerned that state and territory governments are delaying the rollout of foundational supports that complement the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Foundational supports are being implemented to provide additional resources outside the NDIS for people with disabilities, their families and carers.
PWDA claims delays in rolling them out are leaving millions of people with disability without access to essential services at a time when NDIS reforms are restricting access and reducing supports available under the scheme.
The national cross-disability rights and representative organisation is calling on state and territory governments to stop delaying and commit to properly funding foundational supports.
PWDA said the supports were intended to provide critical services such as community access programs, disability peer support, early intervention, and mental health support — many of which were no longer accessible through the NDIS due to tightening of eligibility and planning decisions.
PWDA president Ms Trinity Ford said the delay amounted to an abandonment of responsibility by state and territory governments, who walked away from disability services when the NDIS was introduced and were now refusing to step up when people need support the most.
“People with disability are being squeezed from both sides,” she said. “The NDIS is tightening access, reducing the supports available to many participants, and now states and territories are refusing to deliver the services they were always responsible for.
“This is a crisis of their own making. States and territories cut disability services, handed everything to the NDIS, and now they are kicking the can down the road instead of fixing the gaps they created. People with disability cannot afford to wait while governments play politics with their lives.”
PWDA deputy CEO Ms Megan Spindler-Smith said foundational supports must be properly funded and co-designed to ensure people with disability can access services they need — whether they can access the NDIS or not.
“The NDIS was never meant to be the only support system for people with disability, but because state and territory governments stopped maintaining their responsibilities, it remains the only option for far too many people with disability,” she said.
“Now, with the scheme restricting access and supports, rolling out foundational supports is more important than ever.
“If states and territories are no longer willing to co-fund these services, they are continuing to leave people without essential supports. This delay will push more people into crisis, place additional strain on families and carers, and force more people to rely on already overstretched health and emergency services.”
PWDA also called for federal election candidates to publicly commit to a co-designed and properly funded national system and hold states and territories accountable for their failure to act.
“We will be watching closely in the lead-up to the federal election. People with disability and their families deserve to know which leaders are standing up for them — and who is failing them,” Spindler-Smith said.
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