Update 15 - 2 May 2012
It has been an important week for our work towards a National
Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
On Monday the
Prime Minister announced that an NDIS will be launched in mid
2013, with the funding to be announced in next week's budget. This
was warmly welcomed by the thousands of people in attendance at the
Every Australian Counts Make it Real rally in Sydney, and at
rallies across the country.
We want Australians with disability, their families and carers
to start benefiting from an NDIS as quickly as possible - because
we understand how long people have waited for change.
An NDIS will mean that for the first time, Australians with
significant and permanent disability will receive lifetime care and
support, regardless of how they acquired their disability.
On Tuesday I announced the first
three of our expert groups to help inform the design of an
NDIS.
They will work with the NDIS Advisory Group to provide expert
advice on the design of key elements of the scheme including
eligibility and assessment, quality safeguards and standards and a
national approach to choice and control for people with
disability.
And yesterday I was honoured to deliver the
keynote address to the National Disability Services conference-
Preparing for the New World-in Adelaide.
In this speech I announced
our fourth expert group, which will consider the
challenges facing our disability workforce and sector.
It is essential that our workforce and our disability sector is
well prepared to handle the transition, and this expert group will
help us identify the best ways to achieve this.
The advice of people who know what it's like to live with
disability will be a key part of building this scheme - as will the
advice of families and carers, disability care workers, service
providers and representative organisations and advocates.
Thank you to all those Australians who joined the rallies around
the country calling for an NDIS. Your voices have been heard and we
look forward to working with you to make an NDIS a reality.
Jenny Macklin and Jan McLucas