Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

A few weeks ago I met with disability service providers in my electorate. They do essential work in our communities, and today in parliament I want to thank them for their service to the people they care for and the families of those people living with disabilities. They included the Cram Foundation, the Flagstaff Group, Greenacres, Community Gateway and the Disability Trust, coordinated by the Community Industry Group. They are all essential local providers, all staffed by excellent citizens, great workers, leaders and advocates for people working and living with disabilities in my local community. It's often thankless work. It's often invisible work. It's often difficult work. It can be emotionally draining but also very emotionally rewarding. I want to, on behalf of all of the people throughout my electorate of Whitlam, thank those who participate in these services and assist families caring for people with disabilities. It is really critical work in our community.

It's not something that I often mention, but before I came to this place I spent many years working as a carer myself, for young kids with profound disabilities and, later on, adults with spinal cord injuries. Because I have done this work, I know how important the National Disability Insurance Scheme is to people with disabilities and their carers. NDIS providers have raised with me concerns regarding the NDIS temporary transition payments. These payments were initially welcomed as a way to help transform the businesses that I've mentioned to operate in a competitive market. However, the NDIA has decided not to include additional funding in plans to cover TTP prices. This means providers are now being forced to negotiate reduced hours of care with participants so they can continue to operate viably.

I join with my colleagues in the Labor Party and the shadow minister and call on the government to address this problem immediately. It's a problem in my community, it's a problem for local providers and it's a problem for local people with disabilities, who are now faced with having to renegotiate their arrangements and are potentially facing reduced hours of care. It's unfair and it's also putting an unnecessary administrative burden on the providers. Providers are now going back to their clients saying, 'Prices have increased, but your plans haven't.' This is undermining clients' trust in their providers, the government and the NDIS system.

Yesterday I attended a small business event where the minister championed the government's role in paying small businesses' invoices on time. I'd like that approach to flow over to NDIS providers as well, because too many times I've heard stories of providers being out of pocket for many, many months without having their plans paid for in time by the government. Let's get some consistency here as well. (Time expired)

See this speech in context