NDIS rollout continues with recipient satisfaction levels high

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) recipients are reporting high levels of satisfaction with 88% of participants recently rating their experience with the new system as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

At the end of the financial year on June 30, 183,965 Australians were benefiting from the NDIS, which represented a 13% increase on the previous quarter.

Most significantly, nearly a third (54,802) of those accessing the scheme had not previously received support under previous state/territory or Commonwealth regimes.

People of all age brackets were reporting positive experiences, particularly a clear majority of parents and carers of children younger than five years. They believed the scheme had furthered the formative development of those in their early years with 91% of caregivers reporting so.

Participants over the age of 25 believed that the NDIS had helped with their daily living activities with 71% rating an improvement.

Even with the flattering feedback, National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Chief Executive Officer Robert De Luca said more could still be achieved.

“The results of the survey are very encouraging, however, there is still room for improvement and we continue to work on a number of initiatives to further enhance the experience,” he said.

The scheme is now fully functioning in New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory and rollouts commenced in parts of Western Australia last month.

“These figures show that under the NDIS, more and more Australians with disability are receiving better and more effective support and assistance than ever before,” Mr De Luca said.

“This means hundreds of thousands of Australians are now benefiting from its life-changing support.”

It has been estimated that 460,000 people will be NDIS recipients by the time it is fully operational throughout the nation.

The government spent $8 billion on the scheme last year and this figure is projected to grow to $22 billion per annum by 2022.

Naturally, the service provider market continues to increase with a significant 17% growth seen in the last quarter, taking the total number of registered providers to 16,755.

After significant embezzlement of childcare subsidies in previous years, the Federal Government has established a specialised fraud squad to ensure funds are delivered to rightful recipients.

In a joint operation of the NDIA, Australian Federal Police and Department of Human Services, the Minister for Social Services Daniel Tehan said the protective measure was needed.

“The NDIS will only succeed with the support of the Australian people who fund it and the NDIS fraud task force will help give people confidence that their money is well spent,” he said.