ABC AM programme

E&OE

MICHAEL BRISSENDEN:

State and Commonwealth disability ministers are meeting in Melbourne today to discuss the trial programs.

Mitch Fifield is the Federal Minister responsible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and he joins me now.

Senator Fifield welcome to the program.

MINISTER FIFIELD:

Thanks Michael.

BRISSENDEN:

As we’ve just heard in South Australia, there are big delays in the roll out and concerns that some disabled children may not even be included in the trial. Why is that happening?

FIFIELD:

Well, the problem was that the South Australian Labor government, when entering the bilateral agreement for the South Australian trial with the Gillard government, underestimated the number of participants in the South Australian trial. They thought that there would be about 5,000 people. The reality is it’s looking more like there’ll be about 10,000 people.

BRISSENDEN:

Okay, so what are the consequences? Does it mean that some children may miss out?

FIFIELD:

Well, look no one will miss out. Yes, there are delays at the moment in processing but the important point is that anyone who is currently receiving State or Commonwealth supports will continue to receive them until they are transitioned into the scheme. And anyone who’s not currently receiving supports in existing schemes will be fast tracked through the NDIS.

BRISSENDEN:

Now it’s not just South Australia, of course, these trials are rolling out across the country. Have the figures been underestimated in other states as well and how many people will be eligible elsewhere?

FIFIELD:

Look, no. The other states I’ve got to say have done a much better job at estimating the disability populations, so we’re pretty much on track in every other jurisdiction. Overall, there are about 12,000 participants nationwide in the scheme. But obviously we’ve got a long way to go between here and full roll out in 2018 – 2019 when there’ll be about 460,000 people in the scheme.

BRISSENDEN:

Nevertheless, we have heard that there is a fair amount of confusion across the country. We’ve heard from some parents who say that as the trial started up, some providers have withdrawn, that there was a bit of confusion about who has responsibility for what on the ground, a lot of paperwork as well some say. And some have told us that they are now thinking that they would have been better off not joining the trial.

FIFIELD:

That’s not the feedback that I’m getting generally around the country. Most people who are participants in the scheme have had a good experience. The NDIS as an Agency is regularly conducting surveys and the satisfaction levels are in the 90 per cents.

But that’s not to say that there aren’t mistakes being made along the way, and that’s the whole purpose of the trial sites is to make mistakes, to learn lessons so that we can make adjustments before we move to full national rollout.

BRISSENDEN:

So do you accept that there has been a bit of confusion, quite a bit in some places, about who’s providing what and that some providers have actually withdrawn their services?

FIFIELD:

Oh look, there’s certainly been some confusion. This is a fundamental change to the way that support for people with disability is delivered. Traditionally it’s been by way of block funding to particular organisations. This is moving to an individualised funding system. So an individual is assessed, they get an entitlement commensurate to their need which they can take to the service provider of their choice.

So, it’s a new way of doing things but also in essence it’s representing a transfer of responsibilities from the states to the Commonwealth. But, I guess, to put it most simply, the NDIS has responsibility for those people who are eligible in trial sites, but the state governments retain responsibility for people who aren’t currently covered by the NDIS.

BRISSENDEN:

Okay, the Mental Health Commissions’ review of the mental health system has called for you, the Federal Government, to urgently clarify the eligibility criteria for people with a disability that’s come from a mental illness. Can you do that, do they qualify or not?

FIFIELD:

Well, the short answer is yes. If someone’s mental illness affects them in a way that is detrimental to their functional capacity, that is, their ability to do daily living tasks. Then they qualify for the NDIS. And the supports will be commensurate with their needs.

But it’s important to recognise that mental health, on the whole, is a health issue because we believe very much in a recovery model and most people who have mental illness can fundamentally recover.

The NDIS will be there to support those people who have difficulty with daily living tasks.

BRISSENDEN:

So someone will make a distinction about whether they’re in or out?

FIFIELD:

Well, people will be assessed and I guess the way the NDIS approaches assessment is, it doesn’t really care what your disability is. What it looks at is what the affect of your condition is on your functional capacity, on your ability to perform daily living tasks. That’s a good thing.

We don’t require a label, we don’t require a diagnosis as such. The NDIS just looks at what the affect is, on your life, of your disability.

BRISSENDEN:

That could be a lot of people though, couldn’t it? I mean people with mental illness could be dipping in and out of the system, very hard to estimate how many people that could be.

FIFIELD:

Well, the Productivity Commission estimated that there’d be of the order of about 50,000 people with mental illness who’d likely be participants in the scheme. But the scheme provides ongoing support for people who need it, but it also is designed to provide episodic support.

Some people, they might have Multiple Sclerosis, they might have a mental illness, don’t necessarily need support day in, day out. And the scheme is able to accommodate that.

BRISSENDEN:

Okay, just finally the states are asking for early access to the Medicare levy fund to help pay for the trials. If they’re struggling now, what’s going to happen when the scheme moves out of the trial phase?

FIFIELD:

Well, we want to learn lessons from the trial phase so that we have a smooth rollout nationwide. There is the Disability Care Australia Fund, half a per cent increase in the Medicare levy, to partly reimburse the states and the Commonwealth for the additional costs of the NDIS.

At COAG the Prime Minister said that we’re happy to look at propositions from the State about access to those funds.

BRISSENDEN:

Okay, Mitch Fifield, thank you very much for joining us.

FIFIELD:

Thanks very much, Michael.