Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Youth) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

NDIS Amendment (Participant Service Guarantee and Other Measures) Bill 2021

This bill implements the Morrison government's commitment to a focus on improving the experience and outcomes of people with disability who engage with the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the NDIS.

This bill is the product of extensive consultation. The 2019 review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, known as the NDIS Act, undertaken by Mr David Tune, AO, PSM (the Tune review), made recommendations to improve the participant experience, including new standards and processes to support the delivery of the Participant Service Guarantee. Fourteen of these recommendations will be implemented through amendments presented in this bill, as well as through new and amended NDIS Rules.

Building on the extensive consultation undertaken during the Tune review, the government sought input from the disability sector on this bill through an exposure draft period, in which 313 submissions from individuals and organisations were received.

While the majority of feedback was positive, there were a number of small, but important, issues raised across the submissions. The government listened to this feedback and amended the bill prior to introduction.

Significantly, this bill delivers on the Morrison government's election commitment, by bringing a new Participant Service Guarantee into law.

The guarantee will mean that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) must make decisions about a person's access to the scheme and their plans within certain timeframes. The guarantee will also require the NDIA to meet specific service standards when working with people with disability and their families and carers.

The NDIA will need to report on how well it is delivering each part of the Participant Service Guarantee, and the Commonwealth Ombudsman will be given powers to independently monitor and report to the government on how well the NDIA is improving the participant experience. This will provide greater clarity and transparency around decision-making, improving the experience for participants, their families and carers.

The bill adds three important additional general principles guiding actions under the act. The first recognises that people with disability are central to the NDIS and should be included in co-design of the scheme. The second gives recognition and respect to the relationship between people with disability and their carers. The third is the right to a diverse and sustainable market for disability supports so NDIS participants can exercise choice and control over those supports.

This bill also provides the NDIA with additional flexibility to assist participants where market challenges may otherwise prevent them from accessing supports. The bill enables the NDIA to provide funding for early intervention supports to children under seven as soon as possible. These changes give effect, in part, to recommendations 13 and 17 of the Tune review and ensure that participants have timely access to much-needed supports.

The bill is focused on making the NDIS experience better and more streamlined for participants. In response to a key concern of participants and Tune review recommendation 21, the NDIA will now be able to make quick changes to plans without needing to go through a full plan review. This will make it easier and faster for participants to get their NDIS supports. It will also be particularly helpful when a quote is needed for a support, and will mean adding the quoted amount to the plan will not result in a full plan review.

This bill clarifies that an episodic or fluctuating psychosocial disability can be considered permanent; it gives more protection to participants who want to use a registered plan management provider; and adds flexibility to how payments are made under the NDIS, enabling the NDIA to make direct payments on behalf of participants, in addition to current payment methods.

Another demonstration of how this bill puts people with disability at the centre of the NDIS is the revised criteria for appointing members to the NDIA Board. The revised criteria ensures that at least one person with disability or lived experience of disability is on the board, putting them at the centre of the scheme's decision-making.

An important aspect of this bill is that it will tidy up the legislation and make sure the law is up to date. This bill will delete provisions relating to things that have already happened, such as the trial and transition phases of the NDIS rollout. These are no longer relevant because the NDIS is available across all of Australia. Importantly, these changes will not impact people with disability.

Sitting alongside the NDIS legislation are the NDIS rules. Together, they make up the NDIS legislative framework.

As the bill changes the existing NDIS Act to make the NDIS more flexible and responsive, the government is also proposing to update the NDIS rules to give further effect to these proposals.

The government is proposing to create two new NDIS rules. These are:

The Participant Service Guarantee Rules will give effect to recommendation 25 of the Tune review by setting timeframes for key NDIS processes, including access decisions, plan approvals and plan reassessments. These rules will also set engagement principles and service standards for how the NDIA works alongside people with disabilities. Importantly, these rules will also set details for the reporting and monitoring of the Participant Service Guarantee.

The Plan Administration Rules will give effect to recommendations 17, 20 and 21 of the Tune review by outlining when the NDIA can vary a plan without requiring a full plan reassessment or the creation of a new plan. These rules also outline when the NDIA will complete a plan reassessment, and when the NDIA can enter into alternative funding arrangements to help participants access their supports.

The Plan Administration Rules will also set out how and when NDIS funding is paid, the record-keeping requirements for funding, by both participants and NDIS providers, and specifies when a participant may leave Australia without impacting their NDIS funding, such as if a participant takes holiday or studies overseas.

The government is also proposing to amend two existing NDIS rules to reflect the amendments contained within this bill. These rules are the:

The Becoming a Participant Rules will be amended to reflect the provisions in the bill and recommendation 8 of the Tune review by setting out when a psychosocial disability may be regarded as permanent when someone is applying for the NDIS. The rules also remove information relating solely to the trial and transition period, including arrangements for each state and territory.

The Plan Management Rules will allow the NDIA to determine that a particular provider must not provide supports. This will protect participants from risks to their wellbeing and poor outcomes, and provide additional protections from providers with conflicts of interest and providers exercising undue influence over participants.

The Plan Management Rules will also outline factors giving rise to unreasonable risks for a participant to manage their own NDIS plan. This provides participants with the same protections as participants who want to use a registered plan management provider, or have their NDIS funding managed by a plan nominee or child representative.

Lastly, the government is proposing to update three NDIS rules to tidy them up and make sure they are up to date. These are the:

The Children Rules and Nominee Rules will be updated to give effect to recommendation 27c of the Tune review, by reflecting best-practice drafting standards, removing unnecessary repetition and correcting drafting errors.

An existing definition will be moved into the Specialist Disability Accommodation Rules, but there is no change to existing policy relating to eligibility to receive support or funding for specialist disability accommodation.

The NDIS Act sets out the conditions under which NDIS rules can be made, including the level of agreement required by state and territory governments. Each of the NDIS rules outlined will be considered by states, territories and the Australian government, in line with their joint responsibility for managing and funding the NDIS.

In summary, this bill is the culmination of the representations from the disability sector, dedication from state and territory disability ministers to improving the scheme, and the Australian government's ongoing commitment to improve the experience for participants, their families and their carers.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.