What do the proposed NDIS changes mean for people with disability living in supported accommodation? |
Amid major reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), unveiled last week, NDIS minister Mark Butler announced the government’s plans to commission supported independent living services for people with disability, “rather than relying on a market that isn’t working”.
Supported independent living is NDIS funding for support workers who can assist people with disability who need some level of help at home all the time.
This announcement indicates a shift away from a market-based model – in which NDIS participants choose who provide services to them, and what kinds – to a more regulated, government-vetted system.
For people with the most significant and permanent disabilities, these changes – together with cuts to social and community participation funding – may be significant. Here’s how it might work.
What is supported independent living?
Supported independent living pays for support workers to help with day-to-day activities such as showering, preparing meals and doing laundry.
Supported independent living payments are often used to fund support provided in group homes. This is where a number of NDIS participants live together and one worker provides shared support to them. Some group homes may also receive another kind of NDIS payment, called specialist disability accommodation funding, which pays for purpose-built accessible housing for people with very high needs.
More than 17,000 people with disability live in group homes in Australia. Around 30% have intellectual........