Since the release of the much-anticipated NDIS Review in late 2023, participants, providers, and sector stakeholders have watched the dust settle and slowly begun to unpack the mammoth report and its recommendations.
The general findings of the review point to several issues that have been known for some time and have made appearances in political rhetoric. Some of the key recommendations are:
Improve the connection between participants not eligible for the NDIS and those that are, to better link mainstream services and the NDIS and develop a unified system of supports
Establish a Navigation function to assist participants with making the best use of their funding
Improve supports for children and participants with psychosocial disability
Expand the registration requirements for providers delivering supports to participants
Introduce a centralised digital payment system
It is important to keep in mind that recommendations are not guaranteed to be implemented, and some of the recommendations would require many years’ worth of discussions, consultations, and design before they can be introduced to the NDIS.
Navigators
One of the recommendations is the establishment of the Navigator role. This would be an independent function that is in place to assist all people with disability, including those not eligible for the NDIS, to navigate the various systems and rules to get the most out of the support networks available to all people with Disabilities.
Here at First2Care we have always taken the view that plan management is far more than paying invoices, even if that’s how the funding model has been set up. Navigating the many rules and regulations in the NDIS will always be critical, and we take pride in being able to offer evidence-based expert advice on using NDIS funds.