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Overview
The print PDF version of this report was tabled in Federal Parliament on 29 October 2014. The print PDF version is available on the right-hand side of this page, and an accessible format. If you have difficulty accessing this and other reports, please contact us.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) commenced on 1 July 2013. At 30 June 2014, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) had approved 7316 plans for people with disability, allowing them access to the reasonable and necessary support they require to lead an ordinary life.
The NDIA delivered the Scheme in four trial sites in 2013–14: the Hunter in New South Wales, the Barwon region in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. During this time, $130.9 million of support was provided to participants which is within the funding envelope of $148.8 million.
Average annualised package costs were $34,600 at the end of June 2014, or $38,200 including the Stockton large residence in line with the $35,000 average estimated by the Productivity Commission. The NDIA ended the financial year with a surplus of $18.0 million.
Process improvements mean that time taken for participant eligibility determination has fallen from an average of 29.7 days in July–December 2013 to 13.3 days in January–June 2014. And satisfaction levels of participants in the trial sites are very high 94 per cent rated NDIA planning good, or very good.
At the close of the financial year, there were approximately 1350 NDIS registered service providers across the four trial sites, providing supports across diverse areas ranging from assistance with personal care to support with accessing and participating in the community, including support with obtaining employment.
The NDIA used the Sector Development Fund (SDF) to invest approximately $4.5 million in programmes and activities to help both individuals and organisations make the transition from Commonwealth, state and territory based systems to the NDIS.
The NDIA Board established its governance procedures and implemented an extensive risk management system. The Board oversaw four major independent reviews:
Operational review to monitor average annualised package costs
Capability review to assess NDIA processes, systems and the expertise of its people to deliver the NDIS roll out
KPMG review of the optimal transition to full scheme
Boston Consulting Group review of business capabilities to assess what of the NDIA's functions can be outsourced to private and non-government providers.
The NDIA National Office in Geelong was opened by the Prime Minister, the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, on 30 April 2014. The NDIA employed 516 staff across the trial sites and National Office. Nearly 11 per cent of this workforce identified as having disability compared with around 3 per cent for the Australian Public Service (APS) and 53 per cent identified as having a lived experience of disability. All NDIA workplaces are fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA Act).
At full rollout, it is expected that only 7 per cent of NDIS costs will be spent on administration, with 85 per cent of NDIA staff roles dealing directly with people with disability. The long-term economic benefits of the NDIS are estimated to exceed its costs, adding around 1 per cent to gross domestic product and saving $20 billion per year by 2035.