Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

On the basis of what is in front of me, the bill does the following things. In relation to access, the bill requires the National Disability Insurance Agency to provide participants with a clear statement of the basis on which they entered the scheme—by meeting either the disability requirements or the early intervention requirements or by meeting both. The bill will also clarify and expand the National Disability Insurance Scheme rules relating to access provisions, including the methods or criteria to be applied when making decisions about the disability and early intervention criteria, and the matters which must or must not be taken into account. Further, it creates the new reasonable and necessary budget framework for the preparation of NDIS participants' plans. The bill provides for the new framework plans to be developed in accordance with the new budget framework. Participants will receive funding based on whether they access the scheme on the basis of impairments that meet the disability requirements, the early intervention requirements or both.

The bill amends the act to provide for the needs assessment process and the method for calculating the total amount of a participant's flexible funding and funding for stated supports for new framework plans to be specified in legislative instruments and NDIS rules. These will be developed in consultation with people with disability—