What changes to the NDIS can we expect from the new Labor Government?

With the NDIS back in the hands of the party who first built it, it's a good time to look back on what the Labor Party promised to deliver for people with disability.

The key message before the election was that a Labor government will put people with disabilities at the centre of the NDIS.

This might sound like a rhetorical motherhood statement, but shifting the power to people with disabilities is at the heart of what the NDIS was meant to be about. This requires disabled people to be in charge of the decisions that affect us – as the disability rights movement catch cry goes - nothing about us without us.

?But what changes can we expect to the NDIS during the first few months of this new government?

At an NDIS rally on Thursday, Bill Shorten promised to appoint more people with disabilities to the board and into senior positions within the agency. Currently there are 9 members on the board and the legislation allows for 12 so there are vacancies that could be immediately filled by people with disabilities. The removal of existing board members is less likely because legislation requires agreement from all states.

The commitment to appoint people with disabilities into senior executive roles might signal the replacement of the current CEO, Martin Hoffman, in favour of a person with disability. While the CEO is formally appointed by the board, it is possible that the new government's desire to wipe the slate clean, may lead to Hoffman's resignation.

Changes in leadership at the NDIA are likely to be part of the new government’s approach to deliver on another key commitment that was made before the election. In my interview with Bill Shorten on my podcast series before the election he made it clear that his number one priority was to rebuild trust with the disability community. Shorten said:

"At the moment, it is a bureaucratic nightmare. You’re either having your funding cut or if you have a good package … [you] are constantly worried they’re going to be cut. So, we’ve got to take the anxiety out of the scheme, get rid of the nightmare, have co-design with people with disability as we move it forward, go back to its original objectives."

The desire to rebuild trust began with the previous Minister, Linda Reynolds, who responded to the public outcry over independent assessments by shelving them and committing to a codesign approach to the development of new policy solutions within the agency. This work got underway last year and is likely to continue and accelerate under the new government.

Another key area where the new government has committed to taking action relates to the high number of cases at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). In my podcast Shorten said:

"I think it’s a disaster that so many people are having to go to the AAT.?What we’re seeing is NDIS packages by trial. It is just the dumbest, meanest way I’ve seen of allocating taxpayer resources for people with disability ever invented.

So, if we get in, we’ll stop the informal instructions to cut everyone because I think that’s what I think has happened. Change of government will relieve a lot of pressure and for matters currently listed...we’ll give the option of alternative dispute resolution and we’ll triage this because it is just ridiculous."

Shorten reinforced this message in his speech at the rally on Thursday when he said that he would review all the cases at the tribunal and “where we are spending more money than we are fighting about, that stops on Monday”. At the rally Shorten also committed to providing instructions to the agency to stop arbitrary cuts that are made to plans on the basis that they were not fully expended. This will relieve anxiety that people experience when undergoing a plan review and avoid a “use it or lose it” mentality that has permeated the scheme.

With respect to addressing the problem of people with disabilities stuck in hospital waiting for NDIS plans, Shorten said in my podcast:

"I need to get in and look under the hood but the status quo is completely unacceptable. It’s taking too long. It’s a joke. It’s beyond a joke."

Other commitments include doubling the funding for advocacy, $15 million for a National Disability Research Partnership and the establishment of a Disability Employment Centre for Excellence. Shorten has also committed to addessing the proverbial "oasis in the desert" for the millions of people who are not eligible for the NDIS.

I look forward to working closely with the new government and with the agency to make sure that the NDIS delivers on its promise to people with disabilities - access to reasonable and necessary supports to live a good life in the community, where we are in control of our supports and of the decisions that affect our lives.

Please check out my full interview with Bill Shorten at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for reading my article, I always appreciate your reactions, comments and shares. You can check out my?podcast series?including my indepth interview with Bill Shorten and follow me on Twitter @drgeorgethecrip