Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Senator McAllister. How do the Albanese government's reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme that passed the Senate today not only help participants who rely on the scheme but also ensure the scheme fulfils its true purpose of supporting those who need it and ensure its sustainability for future generations?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the question. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is changing lives for the better. With today's legislation passing the Senate, the Albanese government is returning the scheme to its true purpose—that is, to get support through to the people it is meant to support. These reforms have been the subject of extensive debate in this place, and they represent a significant step towards a stronger NDIS. Not only do the reforms put participants back in the centre of the National Disability Insurance Scheme; they are getting much-needed support directly to participants. As the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme has said on many occasions, the scheme cannot be the only lifeboat in the ocean.

This is part of a long-term reform plan to ensure that the investments that we are making in the National Disability Insurance Scheme are focused on outcomes, not inputs. Part of it does mean stopping the waste, and it's important to say that this is not simply rorts. Every dollar of waste is a dollar that could be spent on a person with a disability. The Albanese government will do all of this in co-design with people with disability. We know that there are a range of views. These reforms have been subjected to an extensive consultation process, and we know that not everyone will disagree or agree on every point. But our intention is to work closely with the community, and the aim of our reforms is to be able to assure people on the NDIS that it's here for the future and that it is fair, equitable and transparent.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, first supplementary?

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain how the changes embedded in the Albanese Labor government's reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme that passed the Senate today will ensure that significant steps are made toward building a stronger National Disability Insurance Scheme in the best interests of those who are on the scheme?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(—) (): I thank the senator for her supplementary question. As Minister Shorten said yesterday, the passing of this legislation is the construction of a scaffold which will allow the government to co-design the priority reforms recommended by the independent NDIS review. The legislation does a few simple things. It stops the automatic top-up of participant plans that are exhausted early without change in circumstances. It creates the architecture to implement the NDIS review's recommendation to develop a total whole-of-person budget that is more flexible for all participants, and it allows for the exclusion of supports that are not consistent with the original intent of the NDIA and those that are supposed to be funded by other service systems. This will provide the necessary legislative framework to improve the experience of participants and deliver decisions that are fair, transparent and consistent. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, a second supplementary?

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain the consultation that has been undertaken, since the Albanese government came to government, with people with a disability, their loves ones, carers, advocates and the disability sector to ensure that the reforms that pass the Senate today put people with disability at the centre of the scheme?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her supplementary question. The Albanese government will continue to listen to people with disability, their loved ones and those who represent them. This legislation is in fact the culmination of a huge body of consultation with the disability sector since Labor came to government in May 2022.

The NDIS review talked to over 10,000 people and organisations. It took over 4,000 submissions and it listened for over 2,000 hours to the experiences, ideas and feedback of people with disability. There were NDIS town halls held around Australia with people with disability, NDIS providers, disability support workers and their unions, with over 10,000 attending in person and online. The legislation also went through a 12-week Senate inquiry, with more than 200 stakeholder submissions and three days of public hearings.