Australian Unity's cut in disability services a blow to Riverina NDIS recipients

The organisation announced on May 31 that it would "progressively and carefully scale down the provision of National Disability Insurance Scheme funded services over the next 12 months in all locations" but remain in metropolitan Sydney.

The decision comes after AU bought the NSW Government's Home Care agency in February 2016, picking up 4000 former government employees and 50,000 aged care and disability clients.

In the Riverina, AU has a Sturt branch that covers Cootamundra, Culcairn, Leeton, Lockhart, Narrandera, Temora, Tumut, Wagga and West Wyalong.

Shannon Raine, Wagga resident and mother of three-year-old Ruby, who is one of only two children in Australia born with the rare genetic disorder Xia-Gibbs Syndrome, said it was disappointing and frustrating for recipients.

While her daughter is an NDIS recipient via another organisation, Ms Raine said that "starting all over again after building a relationship with one provider makes it hard".

"Especially if they're older kids because they're more aware of what's going," Ms Raine said.

"The stress from that compounds their situation and it'd be daunting and overwhelming to start from scratch."

Regional Disability Advocacy Service executive officer Martin Butcher said that any withdrawal of support in regional areas was disappointing.

"They took on the government contract to provide those services and then now they're saying they're going to focus on metro areas, leaving people in the country in hardships," Mr Butcher said.

"For a lot of people, the organisation was a trusted provider and now they're going to be left disappointed."

Mr Butcher said that while he believed it was market forces that led to the decision, smaller towns than Wagga would be worse off.

"The whole idea of NDIS is to have choices, so we need to ensure that there's enough being done so that people in smaller rural areas are being helped," he said.

"While we have options in places like Wagga, Albury and Griffith, it's the small towns like Narrandera and Tumut that may be more negatively impacted."

In a statement, AU said the decision will ensure the organisation can continue to provide high standards of service to its aged care and disability customers, "particularly in a climate where Australia's ageing population and need for quality care is growing at pace".

The statement also said it does not anticipate that the reduction would result in any job losses as affected disability care workers will transition to providing services to older Australians.

When asked about how many recipients and staff would be impacted in the Sturt branch, the organisation's communications manager Michael Moore said they do not have the data and directed media queries to their media statement.

AU said that it would work closely with National Disability Insurance Agency to ensure affected NDIS recipients is not left without care during the transition period to another provider.

The Newcastle Herald reported that AU confirmed the decision after the Public Service Association raised concerns to the masthead.

AU did not dispute the assertion by PSA regional organiser Paul James that the decision was a consequence of the financial pressures facing NDIS providers, the Herald reported.

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