Half of the participants currently enrolled in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are getting disability support for the first time, proof of the huge demand for disability services across Australia, it has been reported.
According to NDIS’ quarterly report, the most common disability type was autism and related disorders, which represents 30 per cent of participants across Australia,
Fairfax Media reported.
Braedan Hogan, policy manager at autism advocacy organisation Amaze, told
Fairfax Media that the previous disability system was a crisis-driven, “band-aid” approach, where people had to fight for funding.
Hogan said many autistic children did not qualify for the support, which became apparent when these children reached school and needed interventions such as speech pathology.
So far, about 2.4 billion has been committed to fund the 35,600 people enrolled to the NDIS scheme. One in 10 people has a support package worth more than $100,000, while 70 per cent have a package below $30,000, the report said.
And despite computer bungles that have affected the NDIS’ payments and plan approvals, about 95 per cent of the trial participants said they had a good or very good experience.
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