Australian Paralympic legend and disability advocate Kurt Fearnley AO has been appointed Chairman of the Board of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). The NDIA Board will also welcome new members Dr Graeme Innes AM and Ms Maryanne Diamond AO. There are now five people with disability on the NDIA Board, including current board members Leah van Poppel and Meredith Allan, the largest number in its history. Dr Denis Napthine AO, formerly Chair, will return as a Board Member. After an extensive recruitment process, the National Disability Scheme (NDIS) will also have a new Chief Executive, with Rebecca Falkingham PSM...

NDIS participants will have faster, easier access to minor home modifications, Minister for the NDIS, the Hon. Bill Shorten has announced today. Minister Shorten said home and living supports remained a focus of the Government and was a key issue discussed at recent meetings with state and territory disability ministers. The Australian Government and NDIA is taking action to simplify the process for participants seeking minor, non-structural modifications to their home. “Participants and their families and carers have told us the process to get these minor home mods is too complicated and too long. It is just common sense to...

A new approach will see NDIS participants discharged from hospital more quickly, Minister for the NDIS, the Hon. Bill Shorten said today. Minister Shorten said the NDIA is implementing an operational plan to reduce the time taken for participants to be discharged from hospital. “At the moment there’s too many NDIS participants stuck in hospital who are medically ready to be discharged, which is creating poor outcomes for participants and adding strain on hospitals across the country,” Minister Shorten said. “Improving the effectiveness of the NDIS and outcomes for participants including by addressing this problem has been a priority since...

Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, is zeroing in on those who would fleece Australians with permanent and significant disability of their National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding. This week in Queensland, one woman has been jailed for more than two years and another woman will face charges following separate matters related to fraud against the NDIS. “Any type of deceptive or fraudulent behaviour that targets the safety net to support our fellow Australians with permanent and significant disability is shameless and despicable,” Minister Shorten said. “These people pretend to support NDIS participants but instead try to rip them off...

A review of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) pricing has today been launched to cement the future of quality, innovative housing for eligible NDIS participants – with the Terms of Reference now available. The SDA Pricing Review will evaluate the impact of current SDA prices on supply and demand and set new SDA prices to guide market investment to areas that will most benefit people with disability that need SDA housing over the next five years. The outcomes of the SDA Pricing Review will take into account any early findings of the broader NDIS Review, which will be announced soon. Read...

The Hon. Bill Shorten MP, Minister for the NDIS and Government Services, is calling on qualified disability support workers to join a register to cover potential workforce shortages and critical shifts over the winter months.