The National Disability Insurance Scheme: The Issue of Financing

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Framework Description
Affected Individuals
Desired Outcomes
Monitoring
Therapeutic Recreation
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Professionals working within the sphere of Aged Care and Disability Services have to collaborate with many organizations in order to ensure that their clients and patients receive the most benefits from the system. Aside from healthcare-focused entities, Australian governmental institutions also have to consider the everyday lives of the citizens, as well as their engagement in social and self-improving activities. One such structure is the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which provides support to people with disabilities. The framework was chosen due to its unique place in government-funded initiatives – the NDIS focuses on helping people with disabilities to improve their skills and have a fulfilling lifestyle. However, this does not mean that the NDIS can fund every aspect of one’s activities. Here, one can consider the issue of financing therapeutic recreation, which exists between leisure and medical care. This review of the NDIS investigates the scheme’s main characteristics, affected groups, outcomes for stakeholders, and monitoring, as well as its connection to therapeutic recreation.

Framework Description

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is not a welfare system, but a scheme designed by the government to support people with disabilities financially. Although it was first legislated in 2013 with the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act, the program continues to evolve to this day. It should be noted that, according to the official NDIS website, the use of the word “insurance” is not literal. The initiative’s goal is to “[give] all Australians peace of mind” that they will be supported if they or their family member has a disability (NDIS, 2020, para. 5). Thus, the scheme includes a variety of services that can be covered, including personal activities, transportation, workplace assistance, therapy, household tasks, aids training, mobility equipment, and more. Nonetheless, the NDIS guidelines state that all services should be related to one’s disability and not fall under the responsibility of another service, such as palliative or medical care.

Affected Individuals

The main focus of the scheme is people with disabilities. The NDIS (2020) helps people with “intellectual, physical, sensory, cognitive and psychosocial disability” (para. 4). This implies that the person’s disability status is official, as the government institution requires confirmation to fund activities. Moreover, not all people with disabilities are eligible – their disability should be regarded as permanent or significant. Permanent disability means that the person is likely to experience the condition throughout their life, while a significant disability implies a substantial influence on the performance of everyday activities. Therefore, there exists a discussion among Australian people on which types and levels of disability can be considered serious enough to ask for governmental assistance (Rosenberg et al., 2019). As it may be challenging to understand the individual barriers each person faces in their day-to-day life, this conversation is complicated and requires many opinions to be heard.

Desired Outcomes

As mentioned earlier, the main goal of the NDIS is to ensure that people with disabilities are supported by the government financially, not only in their healthcare-related needs but in their everyday lives as well. The scheme also provides disabled people with information about available providers and organizations that can help in areas where the NDIS does not operate (NDIS, 2020). Thus, one can suggest that one of the desired outcomes for the clients is a comprehensive system of assistance that covers all spheres of life that are impacted by one’s disability.

Another goal of the NDIS is for people with disabilities to maximize their potential, allowing them to be members of society without feeling restricted or underserved. The primary outcomes for the staff include extensive training for working with disabled people and sufficient funding to engage in disability services (NDIS, 2019b). Finally, the NDIS’s framework creates a general approach that unites leaders and communities, which results in the shift of attitudes about living with a disability. As noted by Reddihough et al. (2016), before the NDIS was created, disabled people faced many problems in their everyday lives and were largely underserved in the healthcare sector. The scheme’s desired outcomes are to remove barriers for people’s career and recreation advancement and enjoyment, and the promotion of equality.

Monitoring

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is responsible for administering the scheme in Australia. The agency determines people’s eligibility for support, as well as the amount and types of funding they can receive. This process is based on the mentioned above NDIS Act 2013, which covers general guidelines for participation and coverage. The quality of services is monitored by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. This commission’s authority is being rolled out across Australia, and NDIS members can send in complaints about their experiences (Parliament of Australia, 2016). The NDIS Commission is independent of the scheme; it can look into problems, suggest areas for improvement, work with providers, ensure the consistency of services nationwide, and promote safety and quality.

Therapeutic Recreation

The place of therapeutic recreation is difficult to pinpoint within the framework. The essence of recreational therapy is the improvement of one’s mental and physical well-being through leisure-related activities (Scott et al., 2020). Thus, it is linked to medical assistance – therapeutic recreation specialists have to possess significant knowledge to work with clients with disabilities. At the same time, this approach uses recreation as the basis for all procedures, connecting it to people’s access to everyday hobbies and interests.

This distinction is essential in the conversation about the NDIS because the scheme bases its funding eligibility on several criteria. On the one hand, the NDIS does not provide support for time-limited health supports or those that are not directly related to the client’s impairment (NDIS, 2019a). On the other hand, the scheme supports a recreation activity if it helps one to pursue their goals and leads to greater inclusion in the community (NDIS, 2019b). Nonetheless, it is also vital to state that the NDIS considers supplies and needs specific to a disability and the participant. For example, a person has Cerebral palsy and is likely to benefit from aquatic therapy (Scott et al., 2020). They may be eligible for funding for an educated therapist or specific equipment, but not for registration or other standard payments.

Conclusion

Overall, the NDIS is an interesting nationwide initiative that has great potential to help Australian disabled people feel cared for and be fully equipped for their daily activities. It also can change the nation’s view of disability to a more positive one, fighting stigma and underrepresentation. However, the scheme is still in its early stages of full implementation, and the monitoring NDIS Committee is not available in the whole country. This means that some topics, such as therapeutic recreation, are challenging to investigate because the scheme examines each eligibility request on an individual basis. Professionals working in Disability Services have to be attentive to such details when helping their clients to secure funding.

References

NDIS. (2019a). Disability-related health supports operational guideline – What won’t the NDIS fund.

NDIS. (2019b). Including specific types of supports in plans operational guideline – Recreation supports. Web.

NDIS. (2020). What is the NDIS?

Parliament of Australia. (2016). The National Disability Insurance Scheme: A quick guide.

Reddihough, D. S., Meehan, E., Stott, N. S., Delacy, M. J., & Australian Cerebral Palsy Register Group. (2016). The National Disability Insurance Scheme: A time for real change in Australia. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 58, 66-70.

Rosenberg, S., Redmond, C., Boyer, P., Gleeson, P., & Russell, P. (2019). Culture clash? Recovery in mental health under Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme – A case study. Public Health Research and Practice, 29(4), e29011902.

Scott, J., Wozencroft, A., Nocera, V., Webb, K., Anderson, J., Blankenburg, A., Watson, D, & Lowe, S. (2020). Aquatic therapy interventions and disability: A recreational therapy perspective. International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education, 12(3), 5.

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