⚠️ Content note: ableism and discrimination.
On 8 August 2024, CYDA launched a survey to gather feedback from young people with disability, and their families, about proposed changes to the NDIS through the NDIS Amendment Bill.
In the lead up to the Bill passing through the Senate, the Federal government released a set of draft lists to define what is and is not an NDIS Support.
If the Bill becomes law, the lists will be used by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) as ‘transitional rules’ to determine how NDIS plans are used while they make further decisions about what should be considered an NDIS Support.
Over six days, CYDA received 212 responses from young people with disability, parents or caregivers, and professionals from around Australia. This cohort included NDIS participants (87%) and people not currently on the Scheme.
Survey questions were about how respondents currently use NDIS-funded supports, their thoughts on the proposed new rules, and how they might be impacted by them. It also asked how they would source information to help them understand changes.
Respondents were presented with three hypothetical scenarios based on proposed rules around employment, travel-related supports, and parenting programs. They were asked to assess whether the fictional characters in these scenarios could or could not use their NDIS plans to fund various types of supports under the new rules.
Responses to the survey provided key insight into how young people, parents, and caregivers understood and interpreted the rules, and their personal experiences with the NDIS. Questions related to information availability provided useful feedback about where participants and their families source information to inform their decisions.
This survey summary report is part of CYDA’s ongoing commitment to understand the experiences of children and young people with disability, and their families and caregivers.
It includes three key considerations for the government:
- Information about changes must be presented in a way that is easy to find, understand, and apply.
- Consultation must be genuine and include time for the community to engage in the content.
- A principled approach should remain in place of stated lists of NDIS Supports to enable ongoing flexibility and individualisation of plans.
