Responsibility: Australian Government
Response: Accept
Status: In progress
What has been achieved to date
The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Act 2024 enables the creation of legislative instruments to give effect to a better way of planning, called ‘new framework planning’. This approach will support an improved participant experience, achieve more consistent funding decisions and provide greater flexibility in how NDIS budgets can be spent. Reforms are currently underway through for the phased rollout of new framework planning. The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is working closely with people with disabilities and the disability community to develop a person-centred process of assessing support needs to create an easier, more personalised approach to determining participants’ budgets.
Under these new framework plans, funding will be allocated to either a flexible budget or stated supports. A participant's needs will be assessed through a comprehensive support needs assessment that can include additional modules as necessary, to address more targeted support needs. The NDIA is currently co-designing which supports will be funded through flexible and stated budgets and creating rules and parameters for these categories. To ensure that participants have access to and can co-ordinate adequate supports, the assessment process will take into consideration each participant’s personal and environmental circumstances to identify and minimise risks that are most appropriately addressed through supports funded by the Scheme.
Other initiatives are also being progressed as part of the Government’s commitment to make the NDIS stronger. The NDIS Review recommended the creation of a local navigation function to support people disability, participants and their families to find and use foundational, mainstream, community and NDIS services. The review recommended higher levels of navigation support for NDIS participants with more complex support needs. It is expected that together with New Framework Planning, the navigator function will provide a systemic response to ensure that participants get the support they need.
What the Disability Royal Commission said in the final report
The National Disability Insurance Agency should ensure that participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) identified as being at heightened risk of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation, particularly those living in supported accommodation, have funding for support coordination included in their NDIS plans.
Funding for support coordination should reflect the NDIS participant’s support and communication needs. Funding for hours of support coordination should also be sufficient to facilitate face-to-face contact at least monthly.
NDIS participant plans should be updated by 30 September 2025.
Australian Government Response July 2024
This recommendation aligns with the NDIA’s Improving Support Coordination for NDIS Participants report which recommended better clarity of the role and the NDIA’s expectations of support coordination. The NDIA will review and update staff resources to uplift frontline staff capability in reasonable and necessary decision-making through information sessions, and align internal planning, systems and reporting against support coordination expectations, to enable and support the delivery of this recommendation and the recommendations of the Improving Support Coordination for NDIS Participants report.
More recommendations
View progress on other recommendations made by the Royal Commission.