As one attendee said: “It was a great event. Great topic”.
With an expanded expert panel covering NDIS policy, NDIA, health providers and consumer advocates, it was an informative and invigorating conversation. Here are the top reflections from the night:
– The reformed NDIS programme is revolutionary, both here in Australia and around the world. It’s truly aspirational and, importantly, has broad bi-partisan support;
– For actual consumer participants, it’s already having a big impact: it’s about choice and control;
– There’s still some level of anxiety involved, from both consumers and providers, as the programme is rolled out;
– It’s a complex environment and the scale is enormous. Everyone needs to recognise it’s a programme in transition and there are still “kinks” to be worked out. The key is to get people into the scheme as a priority and then work towards outcome-based measurements (and holding the providers and the scheme itself to account);
– One area that should be more closely examined is the current capped funding model as it may not match the needs of the participants in an environment where nothing stays the same; and
– There’s a tremendous need for capacity building and to make it inclusive and part of the social fabric within the local community.
We would like to thank our knowledgeable panel, facilitated by Helen Dickinson:
- Natalie Anderson, Manager, Ambulatory Rehabilitation Barwon Health
- Kieran Halloran, Mental Health Services Manager, Eastern Melbourne PHN.
- Shelley Mallet, Brotherhood of St Lawrence
- Dave Peters, NDIS Consumer researcher
- Anne Skordis, Expert Advisor NDIA
Also, a big thank you, once again, to our terrific sponsors EY for making it all happen!