Media Release by The Hon Jenny Macklin MP

Geelong gets ready for the NDIS

Joint Media Release with:

  • Darren Cheeseman MP Member for Corangamite

The Minister for Disability Reform, Jenny Macklin and the Member for Corangamite, Darren Cheeseman have announced that around 80 people will be employed in and around Geelong as part of preparations for the launch of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The NDIS will begin in the Barwon region from the middle of this year.

Ms Macklin said preparation for an NDIS in the Barwon region was well underway, with the NDIS Launch Transition Agency on the ground and recruiting staff.

“The Agency will work at the local level so that people with disability, their families and carers work with staff who understand the local community supports and services.

The Member for Corangamite, Darren Cheeseman said the Agency would have a regional office in Geelong.

“By the middle of the year we expect there will be around 80 people employed as staff or contractors in this regional office,” Mr Cheeseman said.

This will include:

  • Qualified planners who will work with people to develop their individual support statement;
  • Local Area Coordinators who will help people with disability participate in their community; and access their other support needs through the NDIS; and
  • Financial managers, technical staff and administrators.

Mr Cheeseman said the NDIS represented an entirely new approach to the way disability supports are accessed for people in the Barwon region.

“The NDIS will involve major changes in the way we work with people with disability, their families, carers and service providers, and we want to make sure we get this reform right so we can build a system that is sustainable over time,” Mr Cheeseman said.

The Australian Government has invested $1 billion towards the five NDIS launch sites across Australia.