SpeakOut_August2014_FINAL_eCopy

association news

National Disability Insurance Scheme news

Changes to pricing and supports The NDIS has provided a range of webinars, which they publicise in their updates and newsletters, and which can be subscribed to via the website. The most recent webinar was linked with a review of pricing and a change in some of the policies and processes, outlined at http://www.ndis.gov.au/ ndia-releases-efficient-price-build-competitive-market- disability-services . Although the focus was on the pricing of non ‘therapeutic’ supports, it did include information that NDIS prices will be adjusted annually to reflect indexation changes, which is reflected in the pricing lists on the website. Some changes have been instituted to the cancellation policy, making it possible for providers to claim from the NDIS for late cancellations or ‘no-shows’, but this doesn’t extend to the provision of therapeutic supports – so for speech pathologists and other allied health providers, charges for these continue to be included as part of the ‘private’ relationship with participants to be included in the agreement about the service delivery arrangements negotiated with participants. There have also been changes instituted to how participants are able to use their funding, with some supports being designated as ‘flexible’. These changes will only apply to new plans and plans that are being reviewed after 1 July 2014. Participants will be provided with information about the changes when they get their new plan, but at the moment it is a little unclear what the impact may be for providers. Workforce mini-projects Speech Pathology Australia has provided input to two workforce related mini-projects. The first of these was looking at the role of support workers, including Allied Health Assistants, and provided an opportunity to comment on a range of issues, including: • Communication Assistants as an ‘emerging role’ • The importance of ‘generic’ training for support workers about dysphagia and the role of speech pathologists • The scope of senior support worker and allied health assistant roles and their relationship with allied health professions. The second project focused on Allied Health Education and Training to work within the new NDIS context. Input provided included: • The importance of supporting development of competencies on a continuum, including in the existent workforce • The opportunity and value of working with existent forums such as the Heads of Department groups within the professional organisations • Potential impacts of the NDIS on availability of student placements within the disability sector, and need for the NDIS to consider supports or incentives to ensure that these continue to be available

Further roll out The NDIS has now celebrated its first birthday and continues to roll out across the nation. While there have been ‘rumblings’ about potential delays to its implementation, so far at least these haven’t been confirmed, and the further roll-outs that were scheduled have commenced. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) early intervention is the first service area to be transitioned, with children under two years of age moving across between July and September 2014, and children aged two to four years of age and not starting school in 2015 able to transition between October and December 2014. The ACT government is one of those which has legislated to withdraw from service provision for people with disabilities, and members alerted us prior to the commencement of concerns about availability of alternative providers. The ACT government has subsequently provided $1 million worth of sector development funding to twenty disability service providers including the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Koomarri and Canberra Men’s Centre to help prepare for the NDIS. In the Northern Territory, the roll-out for an estimated 150 participants in the Barkly region is being viewed as an opportunity to learn about service provision in rural and remote areas and particularly for indigenous people with disabilities. In Western Australia, the Shire of Kalamunda, Shire of Mundaring and City of Swan will be included in the roll-out. People who are currently registered with My Way/Local Area Coordination (LAC) will be invited to become NDIS participants in the first year of the trial and will be gradually brought into the Scheme based on location, providing they meet the access requirements. People receiving other Disability Service Commission (DSC) funded supports that are not connected to LAC will be invited to become participants from April 2015 to February 2016. This will begin with people receiving services in the City of Swan followed by the Shire of Kalamunda and the Shire of Mundaring. In the existent trial sites the Scheme is being expanded geographically (Barwon and Hunter) or into further age groups (Tasmania, South Australia). Further details about the roll-out are available on the NDIS website at http://www.ndis.gov.au/our-sites . NDIS reports The NDIS releases quarterly reports tracking performance against key performance indicators. These reports include financial and other information, including things such as satisfaction levels of participants and funds allocated vs funds spent. It was interesting to note in the most recent report that ‘communication’ was the most commonly funded support category, followed by self care and community participation. Unfortunately, we don’t really have any prior data to compare with, but it is encouraging to see that communication continues to be recognised by participants as an important domain requiring supports to enhance participation.

6 Speak Out August 2014

Speech Pathology Australia