Around the traps
Travis the artist
Travis is a very talented young artist who enjoys doing Aboriginal dot paintings . When asked what he loves about creating art , he said that painting helps him relax and gives him something to focus on .
When painting , some of the colours Travis likes to use in his artwork are white , black , ochre and different shades of blue . He also shared that he feels inspired when he sees traditional symbols and other patterns . One of his goals is to start selling some of his artwork .
Keep up the great work , Trav ! We are all very proud of you .
NDIS
The Australian Government Department
of Social Services (DSS)
Managed by the NDIA, The National Disability Insurance
Scheme (NDIS) is a way of providing support to people with
disability around Australia.
In an effort to make the NDIS work even better, the
Australian Government Department of Social Services
(DSS) acknowledges that they need to change the law.
This law is called the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Act 2013, which is often referred to as, the Act.
“EllieB’s welcomes the recent news
that the NDIS will introduce changes
to the Act. These changes include
establishing a participant service
guarantee and making improvements
to processes for participants and
providers. We have included some
information throughout the newsletter
regarding the changes for your
convenience and will keep you posted
as the changes occur”.
Wendy Warren | Chief Executive
There are also rules about how the NDIS works.
To follow are the proposed changes from the DSS.
Changing the NDIS Act and Rules
The DSS wants to:
• Make sure the NDIS works better.
• Make sure NDIS participants have a good experience.
• Make the NDIS:
o Fairer
o Easier to use
o Faster
o More flexible
• Fix the Act and Rules so they are:
o Clear
o Up to date
The DSS also hired an expert, Mr David Tune, to compile a
report to get recommendations on how to improve the Act
and the Rules.
Based on what he had to say, the DSS also wants to make
the Participant Service Guarantee law.
• The Participant Service Guarantee (or promise)
will be a new set of rules for the NDIA.
• This guarantee will make the NDIS work simpler
and better
• The NDIA already follows the Guarantee and the DSS
wants to make the guarantee part of the law
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Some of the timeframes the NDIA must
meet are:
• if someone wants to join the NDIS,
the NDIA must decide within 21 days
• if someone asks why the NDIA made a
decision, the NDIA must answer within
28 days
Some of the standards the NDIA must
meet are:
• the NDIA must be transparent
• the NDIA must be responsive
When an organisation is transparent,
everyone can see how things work.
When an organisation is responsive, it acts
quickly to:
• Give people what they ask for
• Fix problems
Mr Tune also said the NDIA would have to
tell all governments how well they meet the:
• timeframes
• standards
Making the NDIS work better
for participants
Mr Tune put other ideas in his report. Inside
this report he said:
• NDIS plans should be easier to change
• We must be clear about how people
who need mental health support can
get what they need through the NDIS
• Families should be able to get NDIS
support for children with disability:
o as soon as they find out about their
child’s disability
o while the child is still young
He also said that the NDIA must give
people more information about the decisions
they make.
When the NDIA makes decisions,
they should be:
• based on what they already know
works well
• consistent
The NDIA has already started to tell all
governments how well they meet the
timeframes and standards. When something is consistent it is done the
same way every time.
The NDIA writes reports about the NDIS for
everyone to read. The DSS want the NDIA to be able to pay
service providers directly.
The reports talk about how well they meet
the timeframes and standards. This means participants won’t have to work
as hard to look after their NDIS funding.
Questions to think about NDIS funding is the money from your plan
that pays for the supports and services you
need.
• Is the Guarantee easy to understand?
• Is it clear how the Guarantee will work?
• What problems could the Guarantee
cause?
Mr Tune said that parts of the Act and Rules:
• are out of date
• need to be updated
For example, parts of the Act still talk about
starting the NDIS.
Things like this need to be come out of the
Act.
The Government is also looking at the Rules
to make sure they
are up to date.
When will the DSS make these
changes?
There are a lot of steps involved in changing
laws.
Parliament needs to think about what will
change if they make it law.
Parliament makes decisions about
Australian laws.
The people in Parliament:
• come from different parts of Australia
• have different beliefs
If Parliament agrees, the Act will change
before the end of 2021.
How can you have your say?
• Visit: engage.dss.gov.au
• Email: ndisconsultations@dss.gov.au
You can find these reports on their website.
It also means they can spend more time
thinking about how they want to use their
NDIS funding. www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/publications/
quarterly-reports
Questions to think about: Full document available at:
www.engage.dss.gov.au
• The Guarantee will make it clear what people should
expect from the NDIA • Are these new ideas easy to
understand?
Mr Tune said the Guarantee should:
• set times for the NDIA to do their work
• list the standards the NDIA must meet • What problems could the new ideas
cause?
ebldisabilityservices.org.au
Staying up to date
ebldisabilityservices.org.au
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