Media Release by The Hon Paul Fletcher MP

More time for WA NDIS participants to transfer to national NDIS

Joint Media Release with:

  • The Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Families and Social Services

    The Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, WA Minister for Disability Services

The Commonwealth and Western Australian (WA) Governments have agreed to provide additional time for people to transfer from the WA Government’s State-based National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to the nationally delivered NDIS.

Paul Fletcher, Minister for Families and Social Services, said that as the scheme had rolled out it had become clear that additional time was required to ensure the NDIA had people and systems in place to provide high quality planning experiences for people transferring between jurisdictions.

“The NDIS is one of the largest, most significant social and economic reforms in Australian history. This extension will allow WA’s State-based NDIS participants to be appropriately supported by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and the WA Government to transfer to the nationally delivered scheme,” Mr Fletcher said.

All current participants in the WA NDIS will be supported to transfer to the nationally delivered NDIS.

“As of 30 November 2018, more than 2,700 of WA’s State-based NDIS participants have transferred to the nationally delivered NDIS and have a funded plan in place,” Mr Fletcher said.

“A further 4,600 WA NDIS participants have been found eligible for the nationally delivered scheme, and many of these people have had their individual planning conversations.

“For people who have their plan directly transferred to the nationally delivered NDIS, the type of support and the hours of support will be maintained even though the format of the plan may look different.”

Stephen Dawson, WA Minister for Disability Services, said it had become apparent the 31 December 2018 timeline for transfer of all existing WA NDIS participants was not achievable and a new target date had been negotiated.

“The State Government remains committed to working closely with the Commonwealth to ensure the NDIS rollout meets the expectations of Western Australians with disability and their families as well as service providers,” Minister Dawson said.

“Western Australians living with disability will continue to be supported and will not be disadvantaged by this delay.”

There is agreement that the ultimate priority is a high quality planning experience and outcomes for participants, including the ability to meet with an NDIS planner or Local Area Co-ordinator (LAC) face-to-face.

Participants of the scheme in WA are also benefiting from an improved participant pathway being progressively rolled out across Australia, with a focus on community, mainstream, informal and employment supports, improved linkages between LACs and planners and a consistent point of contact for participants and their carers.

These improvements began to be rolled out in WA in September 2018.

Earlier this month, the Federal Government also announced Mission Australia and Advanced Personnel Management as the NDIS Partners in the Community in WA.

Mission Australia and APM are expected to commence LAC services from January 2019 and will support planning outcomes.

Eligible Western Australians who are currently receiving disability services from other WA Government or Commonwealth programs are also being progressively transitioned into the nationally-delivered NDIS.

The NDIS has been rolling out progressively across Australia, and the nationally-delivered scheme formally began its roll out in WA on 1 July 2018.

For more information about the nationally-delivered NDIS in WA or the transfer process: