People across the Riverina are scrambling to get their heads around the biggest change in healthcare since the launch of Medicare.
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The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will roll out in the Riverina from July 1, but some people remain in the dark about how it will affect them.
An NDIS information session for mental health services was held at the International Hotel on Wednesday morning, which saw several health sector representatives field questions about what would change.
NDIS representative Jane Beaumont said the scheme was basically about giving people with disabilities a choice on how to live their own lives.
“You’re going to notice a lot more people with disabilities in the community, living the life they want to live,” Ms Beaumont said. “One of the major building blocks of the NDIS is if people aren’t happy with the services they’re getting, then they can shop around to achieve the outcomes they want to achieve.”
Calling the NDIS a major revolution in disability funding is hardly an overstatement. The multi-billion dollar, bipartisan scheme, will see funding for disability services largely move from state to federal governments and will also give people more freedom to live their lives.
It will also present a fundamental challenge to disability service providers; by turning the client-service relationship on its head and making customer service a major focus in the future.
It is believed the majority of people receiving some sort of disability support will be contacted directly by the National Disability Insurance Agency within the coming months, with service providers expected to help in the transition.
People who are eligible for the scheme will need to have a planning meeting, where the disability and its impact on normal life will be discussed. After a plan is agreed to and approved, individual funding is allocated to the person, to be spent on the services in the plan. Critically, the individual remains free to change service providers at any time, freeing them from old bureaucracies.
Mary Mallett from the Disability Advocacy Network Australia (DANA) said people could also look at the Advokit website or engage with Facebook groups like the NDIS Grassroots Discussion Facebook page to get further information about how to navigate the changes.