Friday, December 23, 2011

Every Australian Counts Campaign




Jack Dikian
November 2011

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) could well be a transformational reform that would entitle all people with a disability in Australia to the support and services they need, regardless of how they acquire their disability.

The Scheme is gradually taking shape and like all large initiatives there are many questions facing its architects. How, for example, will it be funded, who will service the scheme, and from a clinical perspective – what kind of assessments will be used, etc.

At a lunch on November 9 hosted by Independence Australia, a panel including John Della Bosca of the NDIS, Alan Woodroffe from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and Kevin Andrews of the Liberal Party answered lingering questions such as will everyone on the waiting list now receive a funding package, and so forth.

John Della Bosca, the campaign director of the NDIS, noted that talk need to occur between different levels of government before the “NDIS becomes inevitable” and “It’s always inevitable that governments change and I’m heartened by the fact that there’s strong support for the scheme in the opposition as well as government.”

The very next day, at a conference (Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability) I attended and spoke at, John Della Bosca gave a keynote address discussing the Every Australian Counts Campaign for an NDIS. The Campaign calls for all Australians to stand up and say that people with a disability, their families and carers in this country deserve better and that it’s time for change.

The Every Australian Counts Campaign website asks us to join the campaign to make sure that the Federal Government implements the recommendations of the Productivity Commission and introduces the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The site provides ways we can all help – follow link below.

http://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/take_action/

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