Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

In August I visited the National Disability Insurance Scheme launch site in Newcastle with the member for Shortland, where we met Peta Lambert and Natalie Howland, two young women whose lives have been truly transformed by the NDIS. Before the NDIS came to Newcastle Nat was living at home with her mum. Like all young women, Peta and Nat aspired to move out and live independently, and today they share a house in Newcastle because of the NDIS.

Nat was initially nervous. Change, of course, is very scary. She did not know what to expect. She met with an NDIA planner and a support worker, and they asked her about her goals. She had never thought about this before—what her goals were, what she wanted to achieve, and how she might do it. For Nat, this was a revelation. It enabled her to lift her horizons and contemplate what she wants from life. She knew in an instant what she wanted from the NDIS. She wanted to live independently and own her own home. Nat had been saving for over three years and working in a steady job for 18 years, but she did not know how to go about buying a house. One thing she knew for sure was that she wanted to live with Peta, her long-time friend. Together, with the help of the NDIS, they sat down with an NDIA planner and support worker and mapped out what needed to be done next. The planner helped work out the necessary support so that Nat and Peta could apply for a home loan. Because of their intellectual disability they worked with the bank to have a capacity assessment. The NDIS provided support for a financial planner and support worker so that they could go through what they would need to secure a home loan and make mortgage repayments. The support worker, funded through the NDIS, was there every step of the way.

Nat and Peta also needed to assure their parents that they would be properly supported and be safe and secure in their new home. Again, they sat down with the NDIS planner and support workers to determine what supports they would need in their home to live independently. I visited Peta's and Nat's home with the member for Shortland. They greeted us at the door and showed us around their garden. Peta then wanted to take us inside to show us their new couch. And yes, Peta, it is a lovely new couch. Because of the NDIS, Peta and Nat now have control over their lives. They are able to dream of things that they could not contemplate before the NDIS, and that is something we should all celebrate.

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