Improvements to second independent assessment pilot

The NDIA has made two changes to the second independent assessment pilot.

Participant reimbursement

In line with the updated Participant Engagement Payment Policy, participants taking part in the second independent assessment pilot will be eligible for a reimbursement payment. The reimbursement will be made at a one-off flat rate of $150 per participant after they have completed an independent assessment.  

The Participant Engagement Payment Policy allows us to pay NDIS participants, people with disability, their families and carers, who give up their time to provide input to our improvement projects. 

We are paying participants for contributing their time attending an assessment. The involvement of participants is important, as this will help ensure the second pilot provides robust data to inform independent assessments in the future. 

After they have completed their independent assessment, participants are also invited to give feedback about their experience.

We continue to be committed to ensuring participants, their families and carers can have their say to shape how independent assessments will work. 

Participants who have already participated in the second independent assessment pilot, which commenced in October 2020, will also be eligible for the one-off reimbursement. 

New assessor organisations added to pilot

We are expanding the second independent assessment pilot. The NDIA has engaged two additional organisations to join the pilot.

We’ve asked Allied Care Group and HealthStrong to join APM to conduct independent assessments in this pilot. Both Allied Care Group and HealthStrong have the required skills and experience to support us in delivering this pilot. 

The three organisations will deliver independent assessments for the pilot across metropolitan, regional and remote locations nationwide.

We’ll be using the data we collect in this pilot to help us implement independent assessments in 2021.