Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the motion, and I acknowledge the work of the committee chair, who's in the chamber today, and the great work that he has done over the last few parliaments. This is not an easy job. It's not an easy rollout. My friend has gone about his business in a calm, methodical manner. I have absolutely no doubt that the oversight committee will play a very important role in the years to come, and I hope to be a part of that for some time to come.

I've organised four separate NDIS forums in my electorate of Fisher, and I've attended a further 'Make it Work' forum, organised by a local charity, STEPS. I've gathered feedback from hundreds of participants in the NDIS, of which my daughter is one. However, sometimes one individual's story can go a long way to making clear the issues in a huge scheme like the NDIS, and today I want to focus on one of those stories.

At the end of 2018, a Fisher resident and business person, Kylie Martin, visited me to discuss the rollout of the NDIS. Kylie is the founder of Chatter-boxes, a nurturing speech pathology practice in Minyama. She's a dynamic, modest, practical and highly engaged business leader, and I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate her on the fantastic local business that she has created.

Kylie was quietly excited about the rollout of the NDIS on the Sunshine Coast. She described how she is already employing new local therapists to deal with the demand from people who had not previously been able to receive this level of government support. Kylie's story, like that of so many I heard during my time on the NDIS committee, was, indeed, a positive one, of new jobs being created, new services being offered and support being provided to people who might never otherwise have received it.

However, Kylie had some concerns about how the program was to be implemented, and I've been working with her and with the NDIA to explore those. As this motion describes, I'm pleased to say that the government and the NDIA—and, in fact, the oversight committee—have, since our meeting, acted to deal decisively with many of these issues.

Kylie explained to me that, while she would like to be able to have her team travel more to their patients, to deliver therapy in a familiar and comfortable setting, 20 minutes of travel time is not sufficient in a regional area like the Sunshine Coast. I was therefore pleased to see that, in June this year, the government announced increases in provider travel caps from 20 minutes to 30 minutes in metropolitan areas and from 45 minutes to 60 minutes in regional areas. These changes will mean that more providers like those in my electorate will be able to travel to deliver care in the most effective location.

Kylie also explained that, while the NDIS's current pricing structure for therapies was adequate on the Sunshine Coast, without further review and increases over time many providers would soon face tough times. That's why I was pleased to see the government recently announce significant increases in the base prices for attendant care and community participation, as well as increases of up to 4.5 per cent for supports like assistance with daily activities. The Morrison government has also introduced a new tier of higher prices for those individuals with complex needs which will attract up to 10 per cent in additional loading where it's needed.

I was also heartened to see that, following this year's annual review, the NDIA will be improving its processes for future annual price reviews to ensure that it has the full confidence of providers like Kylie and Chatterboxes. Kylie's practice deals with many children, and she expressed concerns to me about the slow pace at which some were gaining access to Early Childhood Early Intervention supports. She explained how these delays not only affect the children concerned but can make efficient forward planning and delivery for providers much more difficult.

With our new six-month plan to resolve delays and backlogs for children, the government took action last month to speed up these processes. This will include standard interim plans, immediate streaming to specialists for participants with complex needs and additional resources where there is most need. The Morrison government is listening to what needs to be done to improve the NDIS, and we will keep doing so.

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