“And that is that you’ll get insufficient support or no supports,your disability will worsen and at some point,you’ll need to have the NDIS,” he said.
“I would argue that it is simply unconscionable what is happening today,if you’re not in the NDIS … It’s the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do with an insurance scheme,which is to maximise lifetime outcomes and minimise lifetime costs.”
Ten years after it launched,the $35 billion NDIS isfacing a critical juncture as costs blow out by billions each year and thousands more people join than was ever expected.
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The blowouts,which put it on track to be one of the most expensive federal programs,have prompted the Albanese government topromise it will reboot the scheme with an 8 per cent annual growth target.
But Bonyhady said its costs were spiralling because all levels of government stopped catering to people with a disability in their health,education and housing services,which he refers to as “tier-two” disability supports.
“The current challenges with the NDIS will only be fixed if Commonwealth,state and territory governments work together. We also need to re-engage local governments who vacated the field since the NDIS commenced,” he said.