Getting the NDIS Back on Track Bill – information for QDN members

The following is provided as a summary of the information provided by Commonwealth Government. In the coming week, QDN will provide further information to members.

What are the key points?

• On 27 March 2024 new NDIS legislation was introduced to Parliament.
• The bill proposes significant policy reform which will impact NDIS participants.
• This legislation is based on the recommendations from the NDIS Review.
• There will be consultation and co-design with the disability community and it will be important that QDN members have the opportunity to be involved and have their say.
• Consultations on the bill are open until 17 May 2024.

Department of Social Services webinars

The Department of Social Services and Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM presented 3 webinars about the NDIS bill and proposed changes to the NDIA Act.

You can watch a recorded session of the NDIS Legislation webinar on YouTube here.

What is the Getting the NDIS Back on Track Bill?

Minister for the NDIS the Hon. Bill Shorten MP introduced NDIS legislation to Parliament on 27 March 2024. It’s called the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No 1) Bill 2024.

A bill is a draft law that still needs to be talked about by the Parliament before it can become the law.

The new legislation proposes significant policy reform which will impact current and future NDIS participants. It aims to create a mechanism that allows future changes to the NDIS to take place. The recommendations from the NDIS Review can't take effect until legislative instruments are updated, which is what this bill is aiming to do.

Why it’s happening

The bill is based on the recommendations of the independent Review of the NDIS (the NDIS Review). They want to make a new law to change the way the NDIS works.

The bill will support the implementation of NDIS Review recommendations to:

• Provide a fairer and more consistent participant pathway (Recommendation 3).
• Provide better support for people with disability to make decisions about their lives (Recommendation 5).
• Create a continuum of support for children under 9 and their families (Recommendation 6).
• Set a new approach to NDIS supports for psychosocial disability (Recommendation 7).
• Strengthen the regulatory response (Recommendation 17).

How will this impact NDIS participants?

The bill is proposing to enable early intervention pathways for people with psychosocial disability and children under 9 years old. This means the NDIS would work differently for different groups of people.

Many changes will not take effect straight away. A range of changes will need to be made to the NDIS Rules and the legislative instruments that outline the operation of the NDIS, which are made with the states and territories.

What are the next steps?

There was no co-design or consultation process before the bill was tabled in Parliament other than what has been reported about engagement with national disability peak organisations. QDN will work with members to look at what this means for Queenslanders with disability and what input we need to have.

Changes will take time to develop and will be implemented in stages, using a phased and considered approach. The NDIS Review recommended changes take place over a 5-year period.

More information about the co-design approach, including specific opportunities to engage, will be shared in the coming weeks.

Consultation 

The bill has been referred to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry; submissions are due on 17 May 2024. QDN is writing a submission to this inquiry which is being informed by member feedback and voices. 

Anyone can make a submission, we encourage you to have your say.  

• Information about the inquiry can be found here. 
• Information about how to make a submission can be found here. 
• Information about making a submission, written in Easy English can be found here. 

The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Report is due 20 June 2024.

Where can I find more information?

• More information about the proposed legislation can be found on the Department of Social Services (DSS) website: https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services/ndis-reforms
• An Easy Read version of the bill here: https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-programs-services-ndis-reforms/ndis-reforms-easy-read
• Watch or listen to the bill here (AUSLAN video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s11tcC8SMW0
• You can watch a recorded session of the DSS NDIS Legislation webinar on YouTube here.