Key Takeaways and Missing Pieces
The 2024 federal budget included significant changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and new employment initiatives for people with disabilities. However, some key questions remain unanswered, particularly regarding the NDIS.
The government expects changes to the NDIS to "offset increases in NDIS payments" by $14.4 billion over four years.
This includes clamping down on "intra-plan inflation" and changing how participant budgets are set.
The government emphasizes the transition to a needs-based assessment will be co-designed with the disability community.
The disability community fears changes could come at the expense of people's support.
Advocates believe foundational supports should be in place before any changes to the NDIS take effect.
There was no explicit mention of funding for the government's response to the disability royal commission.
The Disability Support Pension (DSP) was not included in any cost-of-living or Centrelink-related measures.
A new specialist disability employment program will replace the existing Disability Employment Services (DES) by July 2025.
The program aims to shift the culture in employment services for people with disability.
A Disability Employment Centre of Excellence will provide information and training to improve the quality of employment services.
Overall, the budget includes some positive steps for people with disabilities, but concerns remain about the potential impact of NDIS changes and the lack of funding for the disability royal commission response.
The NDIS has more than 649,000 participants, but the vast majority of the estimated 4.4 million Australians with disability are not on the scheme.
The unemployment rate of working-age people with disability is twice that of those without disability.
ABC News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-10/disability-ndis-budget-2024-changes-explained/101234068
https://www.ndis.gov.au/
https://dana.org.au/
https://pwd.org.au/