“NDIS MONEY-NOT FOR EXOTIC HOLIDAYS”
While I believe that everyone, including people with disabilities deserve to take a break from time to to time and have a change of scenery, I think it is imperative that Disability Service Providers, NDIS Participants and their families/carers are mindful of the fact that the NDIS is not a bottomless pit, when it comes to exotic holidays.
While I do believe that the NDIS should not be the sole funder of holidays for participants and participants should pay for their expenditure, I do believe that the NDIS should pay Support Workers who accompany NDIS whilst on holidays and to subsidise ( not pay all) of their costs.
As with anything funded by the NDIS, NDIS expenditure whilst on holidays should be disability related.
This expenditure could be reduced if emphasis was placed on the tourism industry becoming more Inclusive and accessible to people with disability.
For example, if all motels were inclusive, accessible and affordable for people with disabilities, I, personally, wouldn’t have a problem with footing the bill for my stay . It is when motels are not honest with me and I have go to somewhere else to have my needs for accessibility met-that I might ask NDIS to foot the bill for me.
Using my scenerio, enabling the tourism industry to be responsive to the needs of people with disabilities, would cut costs to the NDIS considerably.
Whilst I am of the belief that that NDIS should cover Disability related costs such as a Participant being accompanied by a Support Worker, I do not believe that Participants should be given blank cheques. NDIS Participants should be obliged not to go on exotic holidays such as cruises to overseas destinations or on African Safaris.
Documents obtained by the Federal Opposition state that almost $7 million of NDIS funding has been spent on subsidising holidays for NDIS Participants, their families and carers.
The Coalition’s Freedom of Information (FOI) requests unveiled records that $6,982,898 was paid to nine providers in the 2023 calendar year to subsidise holidays such as cruises and African safaris.
Many of these providers prominently advertised NDIS-subsidised holidays on their websites, even offering ‘how-to’ guides to ensure customers could extract the most out of their NDIS package.
Some travel websites even contain a downloadable ‘NDIS Travel Fact Sheet’ and step-by-step guides on ‘How to Set NDIS Goals to Fund Supports for Travel’.
Opposition spokesperson for government waste, James Stevens described it as outrageous that so much of the NDIS funds had been spent on international holidays, instead of where it is needed most.
“The NDIS is meant to be supporting people with a disability, not funding safaris to Kruger National Park in South Africa,” he said.
“Australian taxpayers would be rightly appalled to learn that registered NDIS providers are shamelessly encouraging recipients to use their taxpayer-funded NDIS packages to go on overseas holidays, particularly when a family holiday is out of reach for so many at this time.
“Australian families struggling under Anthony Albanese’s cost-of-living crisis will be shocked to know that their taxes are paying for overseas holidays.”
Mr Stevens said even the NDIS had conceded this was a problem, indicating it had started an “integrity campaign” to identify providers who were “inappropriately promoting” holidays to participants.
We all deserve to have a break from time to to time, but it mustn’t be at the expense of someone not having the essential support they need to get out of bed in the morning.