Notice
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The Government has welcomed the formal submission of the final report from the Disability Royal Commission on Public Hearing 12, which examined the experiences of people with disability through the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout.
The Disability Royal Commission held a public hearing focusing on the vaccine program in May 2021. Since then, vaccination rates among Australians with disability have significantly increased with an ongoing focus on supporting access to ensure maximum protection from severe outcomes of COVID-19.
More than 77 per cent of NDIS participants in shared residential accommodation are fully vaccinated, and more than 217,000 (77 percent) NDIS participants 16 years and over have received at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 66 percent fully vaccinated. This is an increase of more than 186,000 NDIS participants since late May.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said the Government has accepted six of the seven recommendations and noted the seventh, emphasising that significant progress in the vaccination rollout for people with disability has already been made.
Recommendation 4 concerns the easing of restrictions in line with vaccination thresholds being reached, which the Minster noted is the responsibility of state and territory governments.
“Many of the recommendations from this report go to measures which have already been put in place – the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has always demanded quick assessment, response and action,” Minister Hunt said.
“Our Government will approach these recommendations as important pointers to supporting Australians with disability to access and rely on the protection of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“The health response to COVID-19 and the vaccine rollout have both demanded quick action and continue to be shaped by expert advice and direct feedback to deliver the greatest possible protection and support to all Australians.”
The Government has led significant consultation with people across the disability community, including active and regular engagement with people with disability, their families, carers, NDIS providers and unions. This work has helped drive vaccination rates and deliver support for people with disability and workers within the disability sector to access vaccines.
The Government refutes many findings in the report, including criticism of the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Strategy. As a high-level document, the strategy provided an overview and pathway forward which has been adapted and updated following consultation and expert advice throughout the vaccination program.
Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said Australians with disability have been a priority throughout the rollout.
“Since commencing as the Minister for the NDIS I have very actively engaged with disability representative organisations, NDIS providers, sector peaks, states and territories and other disability stakeholders in relation to the vaccine rollout, “ Minister Reynolds said.
“This engagement with the disability sector has directly informed portfolio actions to support people with disability to have the opportunity to access COVID-19 vaccines as soon as possible,” Minister Reynolds said.
“Since the commencement of the vaccine program, people with disability in residential accommodation settings of 2 or more people, and the workers supporting them, have been prioritised in Phase 1A, with access to vaccines from February 2021 which now sees more than 77 percent of NDIS participants over 16 years of age living in shared residential accommodation now fully vaccinated.
“Many other people with a disability joined the priority list from March 2021 under Phase 1B, which specifically focused vaccine access on people with underlying medical conditions. This prioritisation is reflected in the high vaccination numbers amongst all NDIS participants, with 77 percent of NDIS participants over 16 years having received at least one dose, and impressively nearly 60 per cent of NDIS participants aged 12-15 years having received at least one dose, since becoming eligible in late-August.
“In addition, from 8 November 2021 people in high priority groups, including residents of disability facilities, will be the first eligible for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots. The booster program will roll out directly to people living in disability facilities through an in-reach program.”
Resources about the vaccine strategy and how it relates to people with disability are readily available. Disability peak bodies and providers have also provided support to the Government’s communication efforts, disseminating accurate and accessible COVID-19 disease and vaccine information.
We have released a new report today about employment outcomes for families and carers of NDIS participants .
In September 2021 the NDIA released a detailed report about employment outcomes for NDIS participants. It identified and analysed the positive experiences and the challenges participants have faced finding and keeping paid work.
This new report follows the same methodology as the participant report. It provides another insight into this important aim of the NDIS, to increase paid employment rates for people with disability and their families and carers.
The purpose of this report is to provide detailed information to help the NDIA, the sector, academics, providers and other interested people so they can understand and address the employment experiences of families and carers of NDIS participants.
The report includes:
Today we published the continence provider list – a collation of NDIS registered providers and their service offerings which will help participants, their families and carers find trusted information on continence products.
The list is an additional resource to help with finding and comparing continence products and providers.
To be considered for the list, providers had to apply and meet our service requirements, which included accessibility, transparent pricing, range of products and customer service.
From our consultation with participants, we know that many experience challenges finding trusted information and advice about continence products.
Many also find it uncomfortable to talk openly about these matters due to the discreet and very personal nature of continence requirements.
That’s why we have put together this list to make researching and buying easier for those that need continence supports.
At a glance, you will see a provider’s contact details, product range and a link to the provider’s website.
An evaluation panel, including a participant representative, reviewed all applications and selected providers that met the evaluation criteria.
Not all continence providers chose to apply to be considered for the list and participants are free to use their provider of choice or switch providers.
To find out more about the list, visit the Continence provider list page.
Please be advised of an upcoming 4-hour disruption to the myplace portals.
The portals will be available, however reports and download functions may not work during the outage window. We apologise for the disruption.
Saturday 6 November 2021, 8.00pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time
Sunday 7 November 2021, 12.00am AEDT
The latest quarterly report for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) demonstrates the increased efforts to build a better NDIS for participants and their families and carers.
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) CEO Martin Hoffman said the latest report shows the Scheme’s progress, successes and challenges during a time when the nation is working to emerge from COVID-19.
“I’m pleased today’s report shows the NDIS is supporting 484,700 participants, with more than half of whom hadn’t received support before the NDIS,” Mr Hoffman said.
“In the past quarter, we focused our efforts on supporting participants and disability workers to get vaccinated, and to ensure participants continue to receive essential services.”
While working through the pandemic like the rest of the country, the NDIA also worked to progress a co-design approach for making a better NDIS.
“We held virtual workshops with the Independent Advisory Council (IAC), key disability and community stakeholders, and the Department of Social Services to develop a constructive working relationship which will be invaluable to the Scheme.
“The workshop facilitated discussions about how to establish a co-design framework and the priorities ahead. Following the workshop, leaders from the IAC and disability and carer representative organisations formed a Co-design Advisory Group.”
The Co-design Advisory Group will shape the path for the NDIA to build positive relationships with the wider disability sector, help participants to achieve their goals and will provide opportunities to work together to better understand the issues the Scheme is facing, including financial sustainability.
Today’s report includes further information promoting financial transparency around the Scheme, including an analysis on trends in median as well as average payments and plan budgets, and the distribution of plan budget changes following plan reviews.
The report also notes that the 2021 Annual Financial Sustainability Report was released publicly in full early in October setting out the assumptions behind cost projections, and detailed scenario analyses.
“Although the report shows there is work we need to do to maintain the financial sustainability of the Scheme, we are confident the co-design approach means the NDIS will be shaped by the communities it serves and supports.”
“Working closely with participants and their families and carers, the disability sector, and other governments means the NDIS will be here for generations to come.”
Other key statistics include:
The report also shows that the NDIA continues to improve on its Participant Service Guarantee, with the latest report showing:
The Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, released the Quarterly Report to disability ministers Q1 2021-22 today.
The Quarterly Report is a detailed report on Scheme performance from 1 July 2021 to 30 September 2022.
It contains a wide range of NDIS data, and provides commentary about the Scheme’s progress, successes and challenges.
It also meets the requirements under Section 174 of the National Disability Insurance Act 2013 to provide public information about the progress of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
You can read about the ways we have worked across governments to support participants, providers, staff and partners this quarter during the COVID-19 pandemic from page 5. This has included supporting participants and disability workers to get vaccinated, and work to ensure participants continue to receive essential services.
There is an update on our engagement work to strengthen relationships and build trust with the disability sector from page 8. The Independent Advisory Council (Council) and other key disability community stakeholders participated in two virtual workshops in September 2021 to discuss co-design and other priority issues.
The Agency continues to release more information about the financial challenges facing the Scheme. The NDIA Board released the 30 June 2021 Annual Financial Sustainability Report (AFSR) on our website on 8 October 2021. Section 5 (from page 93) of this report discusses financial sustainability in more detail.
Participants continue to have positive outcomes the longer they are in the Scheme. Results and insights from participants who have been in the Scheme for at least 2, 3, 4 or 5 years are included from page 27.
Last year the NDIA introduced a Participant Service Charter to explain what participants can expect when they deal with the NDIA, as well as the Participant Service Improvement Plan that outlines all the improvements the NDIA will make. From page 44 you can track our progress against these commitments to improve our service.
There are six stories in this Quarterly Report that show how participants are achieving their goals with NDIS support. The stories include:
The Agency launched an accessible interactive data tool in December 2020. The tool lets you apply multiple drop-down filters to each data set.
If you are interested in NDIS data, sign up for the Data and Insights newsletter and be the first to know about Quarterly Reports, data releases and relevant events.
If you have any questions about the Quarterly Report, please contact the National Contact Centre on 1800 800 110 or email your questions to Scheme.Actuary@ndis.gov.au.
Services Australia Mobile Service Centres travel around Australia servicing rural and regional areas. The NDIA will be joining Services Australia on their current trip across Tasmania between Tuesday 19 October – Friday 2 December 2021.
Please come and visit the Mobile Service Centre and speak to our NDIA representative about a range of topics including:
Check the Services Australia website for times and locations.
Please be advised of an upcoming 5-hour disruption to the myplace portals.
The portals will be available, however reports and download functions may not work during the outage window. We apologise for the disruption.
Saturday 13 November 2021, 11.00pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time
Sunday 14 November 2021, 4.00am AEDT
