As part of the Australian Government’s commitment to find the best solutions to improve care and support services for people with disability, the Productivity Commission was asked to assess the costs, cost effectiveness, benefits and feasibility of a National Disability Care and Support Scheme. 

After significant public consultations in 2010, the Productivity Commission released a draft report on its findings in February 2011. The Report identified that “the disability support ‘system’ overall is inequitable, underfunded, fragmented, and inefficient and gives people with a disability little choice.” 

The Report also provides substantial recommendations for a new national framework for disability care and support that would reform the present system and address its current inadequacies.

Children with Disability Australia supports the Commission’s proposal for a new national system to be established and the recommendation for a substantial increase in the quantum of funding for disability supports and services. 

The proposal has the potential to significantly change the lives of millions of Australians. It is critical that we develop a feasible scheme that takes into account the complexity of providing disability supports and services. 

This is a mammoth task and the need for change is indisputable. A new scheme must ensure people with disability have access to a fair and workable disability service system.