Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Greens amendments (2) and (3) on sheet 7356 together:

(2) Clause 22, page 25 (lines 20 to 26), omit subclause (1), substitute:

(1) A person meets the age requirements if the National Disability Insurance Scheme rules for the purposes of this paragraph prescribe that on a prescribed date or a date in a prescribed period the person must be a prescribed age and the person is that age on that date.

(3) Clause 22, page 25 (line 27), omit "paragraph (1)(b)", substitute "subsection (1)".

These amendments relate to the age requirement. We heard a lot of evidence during the committee inquiry around concerns about what happens to people over the age of 65 who acquire a disability. They are not included in the NDIS and they are supposed to be supported through the aged-care system. We heard a lot of witnesses expressing very strong concern that that particular group will not get the same support as they would through an NDIS.

I did go over this issue in my speech in the second reading debate, and I know that we are short of time, but I particularly want to point out that one of the groups that a number of us have a heard a lot from is the post-polio group—a group I am very concerned about—and I know they are very concerned about this.

In case we do not have time to get to it, if this amendment goes down, I have a second amendment that does not remove the age 65 cut-off but does seek to specifically reference those people suffering from post-polio symptoms. I know that is not ideal, naming a particular disability in the legislation, but it is potentially a large group of people. On this issue I would like to ask the government to outline whether they have considered it. It is an issue that was raised in the Senate Community Affairs Committee report, and specifically the committee asked the government to monitor it. I ask why they particularly put this in place and I also ask whether they are picking up on the recommendations of the community affairs committee about monitoring the impact that this will have on those aged over 65 and, in particular, that cohort of people who may have disabilities related to post-polio syndrome that are not currently being covered—in other words, will not be grandfathered—under this particular scheme.