18/10/2022
Breaking NDIS news… (updated)
Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten held a press conference today at about 12:40pm AEDT.
He announced a big new review into the NDIS - nice and plainly called the NDIS Review.
The NDIS Review was meant to happen next year, but the Minister has brought it forward to start now - knowing that there is a lot of work to do as soon as possible to fix the problems with the NDIS.
Like so many of you - we have started feeling a bit suspicious or cautious (or even just tired) when any big announcements about the NDIS are made. But we have a few reasons to be hopeful.
One - the Review is being run out of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (or PM&C for short). That's instead of being run out of the NDIA, or Department of Social Services, or the Productivity Commission - or somewhere else. Having at at PM&C sends a signal that this is meant to be serious, it's meant to be solid, trustworthy, collaborative, and have the power it needs to actually make changes and keep an eye on how the changes are made.
But even more than that, the panel - or group of people running this review - the people in charge includes some of the most passionate supporters of the NDIS, passionate supporters of Every Australian Counts, and therefore all of you. Professor Bruce Bonyhady, Dougie Herd, and our lovely former Every Australian Counts Campaign Director Kirsten Deane are just 3 of the team of 7. We have powerful allies in there, ready to hear from you and make very good things finally really happen!
So what's next?
We're joining the Minister and Review team for a webinar - this Thursday at 4:30pm AEDT.
We will be there to ask the Minister, the Chairs, and (maybe? a panel member or two) to tell us more about it all in their own words. And to answer your questions.
So, let us know in the comments (or on our website at https://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/ndis-review-questions/)
What would you like to know, or want the Review team to hear? We'll do our best to ask them on Thursday.
Until then, you can find more info from the new NDIS Review website at https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/ - including how to join the online webinar https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/news/live-webinar
Let us know what you think, and what you want to know!
(Image description: News style graphic showing the words "Breaking News" on a red background. Below is the EAC Every Australian Counts logo, and NDIS Make it Work logo.)