EXPOSURE DRAFT NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE SCHEME BILL 2012

This is an overview of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 (the Bill), which will be introduced into the Australian Parliament in November 2012.

Introduction
The Bill sets up the legal framework for the establishment and operation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Launch Transition Agency (the Agency). This will enable the scheme to be launched in five sites across Australia from July 2013. The NDIS will address the findings of the 2011 Productivity Commission Inquiry Report Disability Care and Support which found that the current disability system is underfunded, unfair, fragmented and inefficient, and gives people with disability little choice over their own care. The Commonwealth has consulted extensively with States and Territories on the content of the Bill. The Bill has also been informed by advice to Government from the National Disability Insurance Scheme Advisory Group and expert groups, and from community consultations. The more detailed operational aspects of the scheme will be set out in legislative instruments known as the NDIS Rules. More information on the NDIS Rules and on the consultation process during the development of the rules is detailed in this overview.

The Bill will be introduced into the Australian Parliament in November 2012, and Parliament will vote on the Bill in time for the NDIS launch from mid next year. During this time, the Commonwealth will continue to work with states and territories on the legislation, and consult people with disabilities, their families and carers on the Bill. The Bill is being released publicly to ensure that people with disability, their families and carers can read and comment on it before Parliament votes on the Bill next year. The consultation section in this overview provides information on how to have a say on the Bill before it is voted on.

National Disability Insurance Scheme

The Bill sets out how the scheme will operate. Key matters covered by the Bill include: Principles The general principles ensure that the legislation works to support the independence, inclusion, and social and economic participation of people with disability, and recognises their right to exercise choice and control over the planning and delivery of their supports. The principles also ensure that the NDIS is sustainable, equitable and will promote innovation and quality. General support The NDIS Agency will have a responsibility to provide information and referral services to all people with disability and their families. This can include providing funding to individuals and organisations to help people with disability participate in economic and social life. Becoming a participant in the NDIS The Bill sets out the criteria that people will need to meet to become a participant, including those relating to age and location of residence, and their needs for assistance, including their needs for early intervention. The disability requirements identify if someone has a current, ongoing need for support, based on one or more permanent impairments that substantially affects their daily life and the way they can take part in the community.

The early intervention requirements identify if someone may need support from the NDIS to help minimise the impact of a disability from its earliest appearance helping to improve their functioning now or to prevent a deterioration of their functioning the future. Personal planning for support Participants in the scheme will be able to develop a personal, goal-based plan including a statement of their goals and aspirations, and a statement of the supports the NDIS will provide. Participants can choose the types of support and services they use, who provides them, and how they want to manage their funding. A participant can also, at any time, request that their plan or funded supports be reviewed as their goals and circumstances change over their lifetime. Participants are entitled to reasonable and necessary supports. This means the scheme will provide a participant with what is necessary to achieve their goals and aspirations and take part in the community, in keeping with what it is reasonable to expect the NDIS to provide. Administration The Bill sets up a structure for the NDIS, including: comprehensive rules to protect personal information; rights to review of decisions; principles and rules to guide the appointment and actions of any people who make decisions on behalf of a participant to ensure that the rights and dignity of participants are maintained; and the interaction between the scheme and other existing entitlements to compensation such as the common law or no-fault insurance schemes.

NDIS Launch Transition Agency The Bill establishes the NDIS Launch Transition Agency as an independent body. The Agency will deliver the scheme, and will perform a range of other functions, including managing financial sustainability, building community awareness about disability and the scheme, as well as undertaking research.

The Agency will be overseen by a Board made up of people with extensive experience in the provision or use of disability services, and in financial management, governance and the operation of insurance schemes, and by an Advisory Council of people with lived experience of disability and caring. To ensure the Agency is accountable to government, a Ministerial Council will be established through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). All governments state, territory and Commonwealth will be represented on the Ministerial Council. Review of the legislation Finally, a statutory review of the scheme will commence at two years of the schemes operation. This will be an opportunity to consider how the Act has operated so far, and to provide advice to governments about whether changes to the legislation are needed.

NDIS Rules
The detailed operation of the scheme will be set out in legislative instruments known as the NDIS Rules. The NDIS Rules are still under development. People with disability, their families and carers and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to have a say on these Rules. The Government will soon release a Discussion Paper that explains the NDIS Rules and asks for feedback on their development. You will be able to find out more about the NDIS Rules in the coming weeks at www.ndis.gov.au

Next Steps
The status of the Bill The Bill will be introduced into the Australian Parliament in November 2012, and will be voted on in time for the NDIS launch from July 2013. During this time, any comments received from States and Territories and through NDIS consultation processes will continue to be considered. The Bill is being released publicly to ensure that people with disability, their families and carers can read and comment on it before Parliament votes on the Bill in 2013. After the Bill is introduced in Parliament, the Government will ask a Parliamentary Committee to inquire into and report on the Bill. The Committee is expected to run its own public consultation process which will also ensure that the community is consulted on the development of this important reform. The Bill and its explanatory material will be available at www.aph.gov.au. This website will also provide details on whether the Bill will be considered by a Parliamentary Committee and opportunities to provide submissions to that Committee.

How to find out more about the NDIS

More information about the NDIS and the launch sites is available at www.ndis.gov.au.