A review of the NDIS laws

Please tell us what you think

Easy Read version

How to use this document

This information is written in an easy to read way.

Ernst and Young are helping the government find out what people

think about the NDIS laws.

When you see the word ‘we’, it means Ernst and Young.

We are also sometimes called EY.

Some words are written in bold. We explain what these words mean.

There is a list of these words on page 15.

This Easy Read document is a summary of another document.

You can find the longer document on our website at

www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/governance/ndis-act-review

You can ask for help to read this document.

A friend, family member or support person may be able to help you.

What’s in this document?

The laws for the National Disability Insurance Scheme 3

How the NDIS laws were made 4

What are we reviewing? 4

The people who can use the NDIS 5

Planning 6

Support providers 8

The people who can help you use the NDIS 9

What to do if you don’t agree with a decision 10

Money and compensation 11

Managing the NDIS 12

How to tell us what you think 13

About your ideas 14

Word list 15

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The laws for the National Disability Insurance Scheme

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a new way of supporting

people with disability.

It is often called the NDIS.

There are laws that explain how the NDIS works.

Laws are the rules that we all must follow.

Laws are made by the government and

the courts.

There are 2 parts to the NDIS laws:

1. The NDIS Act – this is the main law. It sets out the overall policy.

2. The NDIS Rules – these are a set of rules that provide more detail

about the NDIS.

The NDIS Act says that the laws need to be checked to make sure that

they are working well.

This needs to happen 2 years after the laws started.

That’s why we are doing this review.

The government has asked us to review the laws.

Over the next few weeks, we will be meeting with people and talking

about the NDIS laws.

We are also asking people to write to us and tell us what they think.

Please see page 13 to find out how to tell us what you think.

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In this document, we explain the important areas that we want to know

about.

You can read about these areas on the following pages.

We also include some questions to think about.

These questions are just ideas.

You don’t have to answer them.

You might like to share other ideas with us instead.

How the NDIS laws were made

The NDIS laws were made by the Parliament.

The NDIS started in 2013.

Since then, people have been using the NDIS in some parts of Australia.

Over the next few years, the NDIS will start to be used in all parts

of Australia.

What are we reviewing?

We are looking at the way the NDIS laws are working in practice.

We want to know whether the laws:

are doing what they were designed to do

can be made simpler

make sure money is being used the best way possible

work well in all states and territories

need any other changes.

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On the following pages, we explain the main areas that we are looking

into, including:

the people who can use the NDIS

planning

service providers

the people who can help you use the NDIS

the way decisions are reviewed

money and compensation

managing the NDIS.

The people who can use the NDIS

The laws explain who can use the NDIS.

The laws say that, to use the NDIS, you must be:

under 65

an Australian resident, or people who have a certain type of visa –

like some people from New Zealand

live in an area that is using the NDIS

have a disability.

There are rules about the type of disability you have. These rules say:

you must have a disability that affects some or all parts of your

daily life, and the way you can take part in the community

the disability is likely to be permanent –

it won’t go away over time

you are likely to need support from the NDIS for the rest of your

life.

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The laws also talk about early intervention.

This is a way of using therapy and support as early as possible. The

early use of therapy and support can improve people’s lives.

Questions to think about

Are there any ways that we can improve the laws about who can use the NDIS? Can we make this simpler or clearer?

Can we improve the laws about early intervention?

Do the laws support other laws and agreements that apply to disability in Australia?

Planning

When you start using the NDIS, you need to have a plan.

This plan explains:

what you want to do with your life

how you’re going to achieve your goals

when the plan will be reviewed to make sure it is working well

how the plan will be managed.

The plan outlines the support you need to reach your goals.

According to the NDIS laws, the support you receive must be

reasonable and necessary.

Reasonable means that something is just about right. It is balanced. It’s

not more or less than what you could expect.

Necessary means what you need.

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The laws says that, under the NDIS, reasonable and necessary

supports:

help you to reach your goals

encourage you to take part in the community

offer good value for money

are good quality

include families, carers and other people in the community who

help you in everyday life

can’t be paid for by other parts of the government, like the health

system, or the education system.

Questions to think about

What do you think about reasonable and necessary supports?

How do you think the laws about planning can be improved?

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Support providers

When you use the NDIS, you can choose your support provider.

This is an important idea because it means you have more choice about

who you work with.

Some support providers are registered on a list with the NDIS.

But you don’t have to only choose providers from this list.

You can choose other support providers if you are managing your

own plan.

No matter who you choose to work with you, it’s important that you are

safe, and that you get good quality services.

Earlier this year, the Government and the NDIS started talking to people

in the community to learn more about this.

This is called the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework.

You can find out more about it here:

https://engage.dss.gov.au/ndis-qsf/

The Government will keep working on this Framework until it is ready to

be used.

Questions to think about

Does the list help make sure that providers offer good services, or does

it limit your choices?

Is it easy enough for providers to get on the list?

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The people who can help you use the NDIS

Some people can make decisions about their life on their own.

Others need help.

Some people have a nominee.

This is a person who you trust who helps you make decisions.

A nominee can help you with:

managing your money reading and paperwork planning and supports.

When a nominee helps you, they should:

respect your right to make decisions

listen to you

help you to communicate what you want

act on what you want to do.

Questions to think about

What do you think about using a nominee?

How can we make sure that the laws about nominees respect the rights

choices of people with disability?

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What to do if you don’t agree with a decision

Sometimes, people don’t agree with the decisions made under

the NDIS.

For example, you might not agree with a decision about the amount of

funding you will receive.

Or you might not agree with a decision about the type of support you

can use.

In these situations, you can ask for a review.

This means that the NDIS will look at the decision again.

Usually, this happens in an internal review – a review that is done

inside the NDIS.

If you’re still not happy with the decision, you can ask for the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to look at the decision again.

The AAT is an organisation that reviews government decisions. They are

outside the NDIS.

Questions to think about

Do you have any ideas about improving the way reviews are managed?

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Money and compensation

Some people receive compensation. This is money that is paid to make

up for a loss or other problem that has occurred.

For example, you might receive compensation if you have a disability

that was caused by an accident.

Compensation is a bit different to the money that is provided by

the NDIS.

The NDIS laws say that the NDIS needs to think about whether or not

you have received compensation.

This might affect the amount of money you receive to pay for

your supports.

You might need to pay for some or all of your supports from the

compensation you have received.

The NDIS laws also explain what to do if someone owes money to the

NDIS. These are called debts.

If a mistake has been made, or if someone has lied to the NDIS, the

NDIS can ask for the money back.

Questions to think about

What do you think about the compensation laws?

Do you have any ideas about the way the NDIS can ask for debts

to be paid?

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Managing the NDIS

The NDIS is run by many different people, including:

The Australian Government

Governments in the states and territories

People who work for the NDIS

NDIS Board

The NDIS Board are a group of people who make sure the NDIS is

running properly.

They are chosen by Disability Ministers.

They look after:

o how well the NDIS works

o how the NDIS might work in the future.

The independent advisory council – a group of people who don’t

work for the government or the NDIS – they are independent.

This council must include:

- people with disability- carers of people with disability - people who have experience working with people with

disability – including in rural and regional areas.

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These people work together to make sure the NDIS meets its goals,

including things like:

helping people to take part in the community

offering people choice and control

respecting people with disability

keeping people safe but also letting people make decisions and

take risks if that’s right for them.

making sure the NDIS uses its money well

helping people working in disability services to learn and improve

the way they work

helping to change attitudes about disability in the community

researching disability and finding new ways of doing things

making sure people in the NDIS get supports they need.

Questions to think about

Do the laws help make the NDIS achieve its goals?

Can the laws be changed to improve the way the NDIS is run?

How to tell us what you think

You can share your ideas with us in the following ways:

Write to us at:

Review of the NDIS Act

Ernst & Young

GPO Box 281

Canberra ACT 2601

Email us at: ndisactreview@au.ey.com

Please tell us what you think by 9 October 2015.

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

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About your ideas

We will read all the ideas that people share with us.

We might put your ideas on a website.

We might put your ideas in a document, such as a report.

If we do this, other people will be able to read your ideas.

If you don’t want this to happen, please tell us.

We can keep your ideas confidential.

We will keep personal information, like names and addresses, private.

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Word list

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is an organisation that reviews government decisions. Compensation Money that is paid to make up for a loss or other problem that has occurred.Early interventionThis is a way of using therapy and support as early as possible. The early use of therapy and support can improve people’s lives. LawsLaws are the rules that we all must follow. Laws are made by the government and the courts.NDIS Quality and Safeguarding FrameworkA plan to help keep people safe and make sure they are receiving good services when using disability support. You can find out about the Framework here: https://engage.dss.gov.au/ndis-qsf/NomineeThis is a person who you trust who helps you make decisions.Reasonable and necessaryReasonable means that something is just about right. It is balanced. It’s not more or less than what you could expect.Necessary means what you need.Rights The way that we all expect to be treated fairly.

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