Advocating against the NDIS IPR
As you hopefully know, the NDIS has accepted changes recommended by the "Independent Pricing Review" (IPR) ON 2nd March 2018.
Accepted changes, starting 1st July, mean:
• capacity buildling therapy funding is reduced for many participants
• people with disabilities are assigned a level of how 'simple' or 'complex'
We need ongoing advocacy from participants and providers working together against these changes, that we feel are discriminatory.
Here’s what’s happening and what you can still do to help!
PARTICIPANTS MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD
Writing submissions:
Participants and their families have been writing in to the NDIA and to the relevant Federal Ministers and their local Federal ministers.
Here’s the contacts so you can do the same:
Write to the NDIA:
marketandsector@ndis.gov.au
The NDIS is federally funded. To find your local federal member, go to:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members
and put in your postcode in the search box near the bottom.
These are the Members of Parliament currently covering the NDIS to email, call, or write to
Hon Dan Tehan MP: Minister for Social Services and Disability Services
dtehan.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 7560
Hon Jane Prentice MP: Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services
jprentice.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 4426
Hon Jenny Macklin MP: Shadow Minister for Social Services and Disability Services
jmacklin.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 4305
Senator Carol Brown: Shadow Minister for Disability and Carers
cbrown.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 3336
Or write to them:
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Some participants have shared their submissions with me and given me permission to publish them, so we will collate them into articles here.
Meeting with Federal Ministers
Participants are also seeking meetings with their local Federal Ministers
Advocating within their associations
Many participants are members of associations related to their diagnosis (eg. Prader Willi Association) or function (eg. My Time playgroups) or advocacy.
Some of these are writing in on behalf of their members.
Participant survey feedback:
The participant survey closed.
This was anonymously created for NDIS participantS, and their contact is ndis.advocacy@gmail.com
The results of this have been released, shared with us, and we have permission to share them. Post coming soon.
Permission has also been given to use this in any submissions to NDIS or Federal ministers so please feel free to use this in your submissions
PROVIDERS MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD
Writing submissions:
Providers have been writing in to the NDIA, the relevant Federal Ministers, and their local Federal ministers, and their professional associations
Here’s the contacts so you can do the same:
Write to the NDIA:
marketandsector@ndis.gov.au
Write to your association:
Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA)
policy@physiotherapy.asn.au
Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA)
info@otaus.com.au
Speech Pathology Australia (SPA)
office@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
Early Childhood Intervention Australia (ECIA)
national@ecia.org.au
The NDIS is federally funded. To find your local federal member, go to:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members
and put in your postcode in the search box near the bottom.
These are the Members of Parliament currently covering the NDIS to email, call, or write to
Hon Dan Tehan MP: Minister for Social Services and Disability Services
dtehan.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 7560
Hon Jane Prentice MP: Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services
jprentice.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 4426
Hon Jenny Macklin MP: Shadow Minister for Social Services and Disability Services
jmacklin.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 4305
Senator Carol Brown: Shadow Minister for Disability and Carers
cbrown.mp@aph.gov.au (02) 6277 3336
Or write to them:
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Meeting with Federal Ministers
All therapists are being encouraged to seek meetings with their local Federal Ministers
Advocating within their associations
Therapists are writing to their associations and assisting them with understanding the landscape, what these changes would mean for participants and services, and assisting with advocacy.
Australian Physiotherapy Association policy@physiotherapy.asn.au
Occupational Therapy Australia info@otaus.com.au
Speech l Pathology Australia office@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au
Early Childhood Intervention Australia https://www.ecia.org.au/about-us/contact-us
Therapist survey feedback:
The Occupational Therapy Association, Speech l Pathology Association, and Early Childhood Intervention Australia all had surveys out to its members. I have not seen write ups released from these yet.
WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE AT SPLASH!
I am doing a bunch of things:
talking to families about the changes to share the information
linking families together, as some are choosing to support each other in writing submissions and seeking meetings with their local Federal Ministers
updating and sharing information using these articles and our facebook page
running a private Facebook group “Physiotherapists united in NDIS” to help collaboration in advocacy and working with the NDIA to meet participants’ needs, alongside Kirsty Buhlert - Smith (a Melbourne physiotherapist working in research at LaTrobe) and Julienne Locke (a New South Wales physiotherapist running a multi disciplinary clinic at https://rhfaus.com/category/physiotherapy)
supporting the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s CEO, Cris Massis, alongside 3 other physiotherapists (from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland) in meeting McKinsey regarding the Independent Pricing Review they released.
supporting Carolyn O’Mahoney in her meeting with Hon Jenny Macklin in Canberra in early May. Carolyn is a paediatric physiotherapist and director of a multi disciplinary clinic in Canberra. We worked together in 2003, and were at the AusACPDM conference in Auckland together this year. Our values and concerns around the IPR are strongly aligned and we are looking forward to sharing our stories with Minister Macklin.
I have also sought a meeting with my local Minister, and am supporting another physio with their meeting. I am happy to do the same for participants and therapists, or assist with background materials.
coordinating and collaborating with a number of associations and groups, and being supportive of joint conversations. The issues of the IPR affect all people with disabilities and all providers, and it makes sense to be sharing information and working together. One example is ongoing conversation with ECIA (Early Childhood Intervention Association) who are talking to the NDIA, as the IPR is not clear if the ‘Capacity building early childhood’ item is exempt from levels.
working on fall back measures if the IPR is implemented 1st July 2018. What does that mean for Splash Physiotherapy? What services, if any, would be be able to provide to people whose plans are funded at lower price points?
We are writing a number of submissions and I will continue to publish sections of those here.
In particular I will update whenever there is clarification around what we can each do to make our voices heard.
Please speak up to help build the NDIS that we envisioned and need!
Key references:
