The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is Australia’s first national scheme aimed at individuals with disability and provides funding directly to the individuals. It aims to help individuals with a disability acquire new skills, maintain greater independence, obtain employment, and have an overall better quality of life unhindered by their disability. An important role of the NDIS is to connect individuals with disability to helpful resources in their community. This includes connections to healthcare professionals, including doctors and allied health members and includes connections with schools, community groups, libraries, and other social services. The aim is to integrate individuals within their community.
The NDIS have a detailed checklist on their website which assesses the applicant’s eligibility based on several criteria including.
Age
Citizenship
Location of residence
Type of disability and whether it is permanent or temporary.
Supports needed by the individual in their day-to-day life.
Other support needed by the family to help them take care of the applicant.
If you think you are eligible for the NDIS, you can download this request access form, complete it, and send it to the National Disability Insurance Agency via email or mail. Their application will be assessed, and an outcome will be made.
It is a national system – no matter which states you live in; the NDIS will apply to you if you fulfill the eligibility criteria. This means that individuals with a disability can travel interstate as needed for employment, traveling, hobbies, etc., without feeling restricted to one state for funding.
It is personalized – each application is assessed, and appropriate support is provided to individuals depending on their specific disability and any limitations in their day-to-day functioning. The benefit of this is that it is not a blanket policy provided to all people, and it takes individual circumstances and needs into account.
It connects individuals and their families to the community – by providing support to families and access to community services, it aims to integrate individuals with disability into their community, which is imperative in maintaining friendships and good mental health. Also, by providing support to families, the system may play a positive role in reducing carer burden and burnout and thus improve the quality of life of family members.
Increased independence and opportunities for applicants – it can improve independence of individuals with a disability and assist them in completing activities of daily living on their own.
Limitations
The complexity of systems and policies – a research report has found that NDIS policies are difficult to understand for individuals with greater disadvantages. Long and complex policies compound this.
Harder to access support for those living in greater poverty.
Administrative issues – the report found that many staff members did not have experience working with people with disability and were not best suited for the role. The NDIS also has had some issues with staff shortages and problems with the online portal, making accessing help more difficult.
Conclusion
Overall, the NDIS is a much-needed platform to help individuals with disability in pursuing their dreams and goals and feel part of their community. Families also need to reduce pressure on them and the risk of developing a carer burden. It does have some issues, which hopefully will be resolved as time passes, but overall, it is an important system in our society.
