Shaping a better future for psychosocial support in the NDIS

If you have been keeping an eye on the national conversation about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) recently, you will know there are some big changes on the horizon. These changes will shape how people are supported for many years to come, and Mental Health Australia is working hard to make sure the needs of people living with psychosocial disability, family, carers and kin are front and centre.

As many of you know, the NDIS plays an important role for people who experience mental health challenges that have a significant impact on their daily life. It offers support with everyday tasks, therapy, recovery coaching and more.

From the middle of this year, a new planning model – New Framework Planning – will be introduced. This will fundamentally change the way support needs are assessed and how individual plans and budgets are created. To make this happen, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DHDA) is developing a number of new legislative rules and is now seeking feedback on these.

Under this new way of planning, people taking part in the scheme would:

• receive a written summary with the category or categories of impairments, for which they met access to the NDIS
• be advised when they will move to the new planning approach
• have a Support Needs Assessment (based on the ICAN) which will feed into the development of their NDIS plan and budget, through a method that’s yet to be outlined publicly
• receive a plan and budget made up of flexible funding (subject to restrictions) and stated supports.

There is more information available on the Department of Health Disability and Ageing New Framework Planning webpage and Disability Services Consulting has developed a short article explaining the rules. The Department says the changes will be introduced through a phased approach, with many people not experiencing change for some time.

While this is a major reform, there are many parts that are still unclear. Importantly, we are yet to see strong detail about how the new system will respond to the unique experiences of people living with psychosocial disability. We know that, overall, outcomes for people with psychosocial disability in the NDIS are not improving significantly. The NDIS review highlighted this and recommended a more tailored, recovery focused approach, including improving access processes, and strengthening the capability of National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) staff and navigators, so that they better understand the needs of people with psychosocial disability. At this stage, it is not clear whether these important elements will be part of the new model.

While we agree there is a need to reform the NDIS support needs assessment, planning and budgeting processes, it does feel like psychosocial disability is an afterthought in designing the new system. 

We will be making a submission to the current consultation, which closes on 6 March, highlighting the priorities members have consistently raised with us and informed by targeted consultation. There are also several other consultations open, including a consultation on defining Therapy Supports, an opportunity to join the New Framework Planning Pool, providing feedback on the new planning approach and other consultations on the NDIS Engage website.

I strongly encourage our members and stakeholders to provide a submission to the Department of Health Disability and Ageing as a part of this NDIS New Framework Planning consultation. Your insights are essential to ensuring people with psychosocial disability are fully considered in this reform.

We will continue to share our views with the NDIA and the Department in our effort to help shape a planning system that reflects the needs of people with psychosocial disability and supports recovery in a meaningful way.

Carolyn Nikoloski
CEO, Mental Health Australia