The NDIS is a major change in how support is provided by the Australian government to people with a disability.
Matt Wright is the NDIS Branch Manager of Engagement and Inclusion.
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme, or NDIS, is a new way to provide support for people with a significant or long-term disability. And the aim of the scheme is for people with a disability to live an ordinary life like any other citizen and that’s a life as part of the community.”
He explains that to be eligible for the NDIS, people need to fulfil a few criteria.
“You must be under 65 years of age, you need to be an Australian citizen or permanent visa holder, with a permanent and significant disability as well. So for example, a refugee visa subclass 200 is accepted as a permanent visa. And in relation to a person's disability, it needs to be permanent or considered permanent. ”
If you think you might be eligible, you can get in touch through the NDIS website, www.ndis.gov.au or by phone on 1800 800 110.
“People can first go through an access request process to ensure they are able to receive support. Once a person meets the access requirements and becomes a scheme participant, the process of making an NDIS plan then begins. And we will assist people by guiding them through that process to assist them to receive the necessary support that they want. And when the NDIS plan is approved, then participants can choose which service providers or what types of equipment, those types of things, they have some choice. ”
Settlement Services International offers a program called FutureAbility, which assists multicultural organisations and community groups working with the NDIS.
FutureAbility program manager Georgia Zogalis says many people who receive a disability pension think they will lose it if they get on the NDIS.
But that’s a misconception.
“It's important for CALD communities to know that the package that gets approved for their disability needs, the money that comes with the package, is in addition to the disability pension so if they're already receiving a disability pension, the NDIS will not stop that, they will get both. The pension is for day to day living and the NDIS package is to help them for the areas of needs that relate to their disability. ”
The NDIS can be complex to navigate, especially if your first language is not English.
The NDIS has resources translated in several languages.
Zogalis also says you can get an interpreter, for free, to help you.
“The National Disability Insurance Scheme made available access to the translation and interpreting service available for people who do not speak English properly. And so people can ring the TIS, 13 14 50, and ask for the language that they want help for the NDIS. And then, the NDIS will be in touch with them and walk them through the process of what they need to do. ”
Cathy Naing is a carer for her 20 year-old-daughter Laura, who has an intellectual disability as well as Prader-Will Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.
While they're happy with Laura's NDIS plan now, Cathy Naing says it was not easy at the beginning because she struggled with English.
“For several, two years, language was the barrier to help build my confidence and to seek help and to ask the right questions. That could lead a lot of non-English and CALD communities to vulnerability because it is very challenging, challenging barriers, as we cannot advocate, to ask appropriate questions and seek advice to make supported decisions for our loved ones that we care for.”
But things have improved in the last two years.
Naing suggests attending community support groups with people in the same situation so you can share your experiences.
When it comes to creating a plan with the NDIS, she says it's important to keep asking questions until everything makes sense to you.
“People need to realise and be patient about the roll out of the NDIS, not to be scared and take that risk of doing self-management, plan management. And ask questions and make it simpler in your own language. Feel comfortable with the person that is interviewing you. You know making sure, am I asking what I'm supposed to be asking? You know, you have the right to ask the right question."
While around 20% of the people eligible for the NDIS are from CALD backgrounds, data shows that they account for only 7.2% of people with an NDIS plan.
Dwayne Cranfield is the CEO of the National Ethnic Disability Alliance, NEDA, an organisation advocating for the rights of people with a disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
His organisation has been working with the NDIS to reach more people.
“There would be a whole, you know, group of people who would be eligible for the NDIS who are getting nothing at the moment because they don't know about it or they're suspicious of it or they don't have the support to get into it. I mean, some of these processes are really quite difficult and if English is your second language and you're not proficient in it and you don't have those advocacy supports that can help you through that process, these things are really difficult to get into. So that's what we're trying to do now is to get these things happening."
Matt Wright from the NDIS says they are very keen to include more people from CALD background in the scheme.
“We're working very hard with organisations that represent CALD communities to ensure that our services are culturally sensitive and understand the needs of people from a CALD background. And to provide our information in as many languages and formats that make the scheme as easy as possible to access for people from a CALD background. ”
But while the NDIS has a role in making services simpler and more accessible, Dwayne Cranfield encourages everyone to spread the word.
“We've got to get the word out to those people in the community and they have to go to their community leaders. And they've got to start banging on the door as well. We just can't do it all on our own here in isolation. The CALD community needs to come into that as well and those leaders need to start pushing as well, for access and information."
To get more information about the NDIS, visit the website www.ndis.gov.au or call 1800 800 110.
If you need an interpreter call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) first at 13 14 50.
