NDIS Turns Five and Welcomes WA to the Scheme
2 July 2018 at 2:22 pm
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) on its fifth birthday has welcomed Western Australia, the final state to officially join the federally administered scheme.
From 1 July 2018, the National Disability Insurance Agency will assume responsibility for the delivery of the NDIS in WA, as is the case in every other state and territory.
WA Minister for Disability Services Stephen Dawson said the NDIS was expected by July 2020 to support about 39,000 people in WA with permanent and significant disability.
“This will mean a significant increase in funding and services, and will deliver an unprecedented availability of support for people, many of whom have not been able to access anything of this kind before,” Dawson said.
WA NDIS participants are set to transfer to the NDIS between 1 April 2018 and 31 December 2018.
People receiving state or Commonwealth disability supports, as well as new participants, will continue to transition to the NDIS from 1 July.
Dawson also announced the establishment of a Sector Transition Fund, with a commitment of $20.3 million over the next two years to support the disability sector to transition to the Australia-wide NDIS.
It comes as the national scheme marks its fifth birthday.
Since the four NDIS trial sites were launched in 2013:
- 45,000 people are now receiving support for the very first time
- 14,271 service providers have registered with the NDIS to take advantage of the business opportunities created by the NDIS
- 90 per cent of participants have rated their satisfaction with the NDIS planning process as either good or very good since the scheme’s inception
- 90 per cent of parents or carers of children up to school age say the NDIS has helped with their child’s development and access to school services
- the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission commences today in NSW and SA Australia to oversee quality and safety for people receiving supports through the NDIS
- the NDIS has been on budget every year.
About 14,000 service providers have also registered with the NDIS to take advantage of the business opportunities it is creating.
MORE: A Brief History of the NDIS – Timeline
MORE: ABC Television’s Q&A Enabled – Disability and the NDIS
