Labor has sought to ease worries about whether state-run disability support systems will be ready on time, as it advances controversial reforms aimed at curbing fraud and cutting costs within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) through parliament.
The government has initiated a Senate inquiry, which on Friday recommended that proposed changes to the NDIS be adopted without major modifications.
The planned reforms aim to slash $37.8 billion from the NDIS budget over the next four years by tightening eligibility criteria, thereby reducing the number of participants by 160,000.
According to NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister, negotiations between the government and the coalition regarding the passage of these changes are nearing fruition.
“We’re quite optimistic and, I dare say, confident that we will finalize an agreement,” she expressed on ABC’s Insiders program this Sunday.
Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston called for a strengthened fraud and corruption response within the disability insurance agency in the inquiry report.
Senator McAllister said the government was still considering evidence brought forward during the inquiry process and flagged fraud as an area to work through with the coalition.
But concerns about the changes remain among advocates — and from at least one state.
In a joint statement, 12 disability advocacy organisations said the reforms should not pass parliament in their current form.
“Reform must be genuine and well-sequenced,” the statement read.
“It must guarantee that people are not diverted from, or lose, NDIS supports unless alternative supports are funded, operational, accessible and available in practice.”
Queensland has resisted signing up to the Thriving Kids program, a major plank in federal plans to cut costs from the NDIS.
Under the program, which is due to be rolled out from October, some children aged eight and under with autism or developmental delays would be shifted onto state supports.
Queensland Disability Minister Amanda Camm has refused to back the agreement, labelling the change a cost-shifting exercise that lacked detail.
Despite the conflict, Labor remained confident people with a disability would not be left without the support they needed.
“We have until 2028 to get this right,” Senator McAllister said.
“We don’t need to contemplate delay at this point, because we are working with the states and territories toward that January 1 deadline.”
Labor’s NDIS plan would lead to average funding being cut by about $5000 a year for participants.
“It is a reduction and we don’t deny that it will have impacts on people with disability and their families,” Senator McAllister said.
She again dismissed calls to introduce an NDIS inspector-general, saying it would risk adding another layer of bureaucracy.