The NDIA has committed to a reform agenda to ensure a fairer, simpler, more consistent and flexible NDIS – in line with the original Productivity Report and recommendations made by the 2019 Review of the NDIS Act Tune Review – also known as the Tune Review.
We are reaffirming our commitment to providing a quality experience and outcomes for participants by releasing a new CEO Direction.
The CEO Direction contains five specific instructions which will make sure that what we do matches the recommendations of the Tune Review.
Specifically, the CEO direction will:
- improve accountability for how we engage and work with people with disability
- help us to meet our participant engagement principles and service delivery standards
- ensure we’re making consistent and well documented decisions
- inform participants about our decisions in plain English and in their preferred format – helping them to understand why we make delegated decisions
- help us to keep clearer records about the basis for our decisions.
We’ll train and upskill our staff so they can fully implement the instructions of the CEO direction – so there’s no delay in improving the participant’s experience and outcomes.
Delivering on the Participant Service Charter ensures that we continue to put the participant at the centre of everything we do.
The CEO Direction
Directions are issued from time to time to provide staff with clarity, guidance and tools to ensure they are supported in their day to day work.
This CEO Direction is called the 'NDIS (Participants and their Plans) CEO Direction No.1 of 2021'.
It directs that staff who exercise a delegation about access or planning decision must always:
- follow the relevant NDIA Operational Guidelines in relation to access and planning decisions, including having regard to key performance indicator standards
- follow NDIA Standard Operating Procedures and other guidance including the use of senior planners, internal specialist advice or mandatory technical advice to improve consistency in access and planning decisions
- when determining reasonable and necessary supports under section 34 of the Act appropriately consider all potential supports to ensure there is no duplication by formal supports of mainstream, community, or informal supports; and that the plan represents value for money under section 34(1)(c) of the Act
- record and document reasons for decisions including consideration of individual participant circumstances and justifications for variation from the Typical Support Package
- following a request, provide an ‘explanation of a decision’ letter with the reasons for the decision written in plain English, as well as communicate in the participant’s preferred format to improve the participant’s understanding of how and why the NDIA has made the decision.