Arabic version: الحكومة تخطط لتخفيضات كبيرة في برنامج التأمين الوطني للإعاقة

The Australian government announced significant changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which will result in approximately 160,000 individuals being removed from the program. Health and NDIS Minister Mark Butler revealed these measures during a speech at the National Press Club today, three weeks before the federal budget is due to be handed down, citing the need to control the escalating costs of the scheme, currently projected to reach $70 billion by the end of the decade.

According to ABC News, the government’s overhaul aims to reduce expenditures to around $55 billion. The proposed changes include implementing standardized assessments to determine eligibility, shifting the focus from diagnosis to functional capacity.

Butler emphasized that the new eligibility criteria would not differentiate among various diagnoses, stating that those with lower support needs or higher functional capacity will be removed from the scheme. Initial modeling predicts that the number of NDIS participants will decrease from 760,000 to 600,000 by the decade’s end, marking a reduction of 300,000 participants compared to previous projections.

The government also plans to limit costs associated with social and community participation supports, which currently amount to $12 billion. Butler noted that the aim is to reset these costs to the previous year’s levels to prevent further growth. He acknowledged that these measures would significantly impact participant plans.

Additionally, Labor intends to expand mandatory registration for providers, aiming for 90 percent of payments to be directed towards registered entities. Butler warned that without these interventions, the NDIS’s growth rate, currently between 5 to 6 percent, could jeopardize the program’s sustainability. He concluded by stressing the importance of ensuring the NDIS does not fail in the future.