The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) today released its first annual Progress Report, updating the Australian community on the roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Progress Report sets out what the NDIS has achieved so far in its Trial Phase, as well as areas where more work needs to be done to enable the NDIA to deliver the full scheme to more than 400,000 Australians with disability.
NDIA chairman Bruce Bonyhady said the first year of the rollout had seen the NDIA learning and building, listening to the advice of people with disabilities, who are at the heart of the scheme.
“Importantly, this Progress Report outlines what we have heard by listening carefully to all of our stakeholders, what we have learnt from our experiences so far, what we have learnt from our research and data and what we are doing as a result,” Mr Bonyhady said.
“We will publish a Progress Report each year to ensure we’re delivering on our strategic plan, benchmarking our progress and actively engaging Australians in our progress.”
The Progress Report discusses the scheme’s achievements, and areas for further work in relation to its three key strategic goals, specifically:
- providing more control and choice to Australians with disability
- ensuring the NDIS is financially sustainable and governed by insurance principles, and
- building the Australian community ownership, confidence and pride in the NDIS.
The Progress Report also includes first-hand accounts from Australians who are participating in the NDIS Trial Phase.
Shahni Moore explained how the NDIS had given her the confidence and guidance to join the workforce for the first time after acquiring a brain injury at age 15 from a bicycle accident.
“The NDIS is giving me opportunities that I simply wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of,” Ms Moore said.
The Progress Report also sets out satisfaction levels among participants in the NDIS Trial Phase. Measured on a scale of +2 (extremely satisfied) to -2 (extremely dissatisfied), satisfaction with the NDIA so far is sitting at 1.66 – a satisfaction rating of more than 90 per cent.
Mr Bonyhady said that while Australians could be proud of what the NDIS has achieved in just one year of operation, there was still an enormous amount of hard work, listening, learning and building ahead as the NDIS is rolled out across the country.
“We hope this Progress Report helps you understand how far we’ve come and how far we’ve got to go, so you can share our energy and enthusiasm for this remarkable journey,” Mr Bonyhady said.
The Progress Report is being released to coincide with the one year anniversary of the launch of the NDIA Trial Phase. The report can be found on the NDIS website.
Mr Bonyhady will expand on the progress of the NDIS and the work that lies ahead at the National Press Club today.