![Wagga-based occupational therapist Aley Light (pictured with a client) says she has significant reservations about the NDIS changes outlined by the Albanese government. Picture supplied Wagga-based occupational therapist Aley Light (pictured with a client) says she has significant reservations about the NDIS changes outlined by the Albanese government. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/yKyzS5MkFCYtCA2z8EAGJL/58088cbe-beaa-4845-81c4-594e98f20964.jpg/r0_1018_2250_2415_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Riverina disability advocates and service providers are apprehensive about new changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
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Last week the federal government revealed plans for immediate implementation of changes to the NDIS, referred to as the 'NDIS Financial Sustainability Framework', ahead of the federal budget.
The changes, announced last month by Minister for Government Services of Australia Bill Shorten, are intended to increase sustainability and improve the capacity and capabilities of the NDIS to achieve better outcomes for participants.
Among these changes the Albanese government intends to reduce growth targets of the scheme from its current trajectory of a 14 per cent increase in expenditure, to just 8 per cent increase in expenditure by July 2026.
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The announcement of the growth rate adjustments was accompanied by a 10-point plan to improve the efficiency of the scheme and crack down on potential misuse of NDIS funding.
A statement released by Mr Shorten said "these initiatives will help ensure every dollar goes to supporting people with disability".
But, in the Riverina there is some concern that the proposed changes aren't up to scratch, to meet the needs of regional Australians living with disabilities.
Regional Disability Advocacy Service (RDAS) executive officer Ben Foley said there was concern about the specifics of the government's proposed changes.
"There's a lot of angst right now amongst the disability sector, about these statements that have been coming out from the government and how it will impact individuals," Mr Foley said.
According to Mr Foley, the review of the NDIS is not entirely out of place, and he said that "If the government is going to achieve some cost efficiencies ... I actually can't criticise that".
Nevertheless, Mr Foley questioned how the scheme will reach the revised growth target.
He said when it comes to deciding if the outcomes are positive for regional Australia's disability community, more information was needed, because "the devil is in the detail we don't yet know".
Mr Foley also said the announcements were ultimately premature ahead of an independent review of the NDIS that is not scheduled until October this year.
"The report and the findings haven't actually come out yet," he said.
Deputy mayor of Wagga Jenny McKinnon also believed the NDIS needs review in order to be sustainable but feels the Labor government may have jumped the gun.
"There was already a commitment from the government to finalise a review in October this year, that was meant to be a co-design of the NDIS with people from the sector and that was going to look at the sustainability and the design of the NDIS" Councillor McKinnon said.
Mr Foley and Cr McKinnon both believe in sensible decision making surrounding the financial viability of the NDIS. However, they both acknowledge that the revised growth targets effectively represent a cap on the NDIS that will be of potential detriment to regional communities.
Cr McKinnon was quick to point out the current legislation "does not allow for caps".
"If people are eligible, they have to be let onto the scheme ... what we need to do is properly account for the level of need in the community and then look at how we design the whole scheme," she said.
Wagga-based occupational therapist Aley Light also has significant reservations about the changes outlined by the Albanese government and believes that both service providers and participants will be worse off.
Ms Light said the Riverina does not have enough service providers to cater for NDIS participants, particularly those over the age of 18.
"People aren't going to get as much funding or they are going to be encouraged to utilise their funding in a different manner, that will not necessarily suit them or this region," she said.
Ms Light said the NDIS is not accessible anymore.
"The NDIS has fallen apart in that there has not been enough flexibility within the scheme to represent the individual circumstances ... no two people with disabilities is the same, they don't require identical support," she said.
"Service providers are already burnt out.
"If the pressure is increased on us to meet even more guidelines and policies and procedures, we are not going to make it."
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