NDIS Mental Health Network Update – April 2017
In this edition of Mental Health Australia’s NDIS Mental Health Network Update you’ll find information about:
- Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, discusses psychosocial disability services at Mental Health Australia’s Parliamentary Advocacy Day
- Mental Health Australia’s submissions to:
- the Productivity Commission study into NDIS costs
- the Parliamentary Inquiry into the provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition
- the NDIS 2017 Price Controls Review
- release of the National Disability Insurance Agency’s Rural and Remote Strategy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy
- registration of Interest open for the National NDIS Mental Health Conference
- a conference for Aboriginal People living with disability
- Navigating the NDIS training available in NSW
- an open grants round for the NDIS Partners in the Community Program
- an NDIS telephone scam and how to protect personal information
- the release of the WA Government’s NDIS evaluation report.
Minister for Health discusses NDIS and Mental Health Australia’s Parliamentary Advocacy Day
On 23 March, Mental Health Australia staff and members went to Parliament House to advocate, listen and meet key decision makers. The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Health Minister and Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health all addressed the delegation in person. Mental Health Australia members also met with another 40 Senators and MPs on the day.
The Minister for Health, Hon Greg Hunt MP identified emerging gaps in psychosocial services as his number one priority to discuss with his state/territory counterparts, offering additional funding if matched by other jurisdictions. Mental Health Australia sees this as an exciting development and looks forward to seeing a concrete government commitments in due course.
To stay up to date with Mental Health Australia mental health policy advocacy more broadly, you may wish to sign up to receive Mental Health Australia CEO updates.
Mental Health Australia submission to the Productivity Commission study into NDIS costs
Our submission to the Productivity Commission issues paper for its study into the NDIS costs was compiled using our members’ first hand experiences with the NDIS in their local area. The submission highlights the major capability and capacity constraints within the NDIA for people with mental illness and psychosocial disability and community based mental health services. Pointing out the inadequate resources for the NDIA to meet its transition targets, and the consequences on choice and control for NDIS participants, the submission encourages the Productivity Commission to give serious consideration to the resources required to manage transition successfully, as well as the Scheme’s ongoing operational requirements.
The Commission expects to release a position paper in May 2017 and a final report in September. More information about the study can be found on the Productivity Commission website.
Mental Health Australia’s submission and the attachment are on the Mental Health Australia website.
Mental Health Australia submission to the parliamentary Inquiry into the provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition
Mental Health Australia’s submission points out that while the NDIS has great potential to improve the lives of people with psychosocial disability, there remain a number of issues that have emerged throughout the roll out of the scheme, including:
- barriers to entry created by the access criteria for people with psychosocial disability
- the emerging gap in psychosocial services for people who are not eligible for the NDIS
- the current lack of support and resources for mainstream services to assist consumers to access the scheme
- that the planning process for NDIS participants with psychosocial disability does not yet reflect best practice.
Mental Health Australia’s submission can be found on the Mental Health Australia website.
The committee is due to report on its findings by 22 June 2017. More information on the inquiry can be found on the Parliament of Australia website.
Mental Health Australia submission to the NDIS Price Controls Review
Mental Health Australia’s submission to the National Disability Insurance Agency on its annual review of the NDIS Price Controls highlights that the mental health sector has yet to be involved in setting prices for psychosocial supports under the scheme. This lack of consultation has resulted in pricing that does not reflect the true cost of service delivery and is creating a challenging business environment for mental health service providers. To ensure that participants can access safe and high-quality services, the submission recommends that the NDIA establish a discrete process to review price controls for mental health services that includes service providers, consumers and carers.
Mental Health Australia’s submission can be found on our website.
More information on the review can be found on the NDIS website.
Release of the NDIA’s Rural and Remote Strategy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy
In March the NDIA released its Rural and Remote Strategy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy. The NDIA says the strategies “focus on enabling quality engagement, service delivery and leadership to ensure the successful delivery of the [NDIS] in rural and remote communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.”
Read more about the strategies.
Registration of interest open: NDIS Mental Health Conference
Community Mental Health Australia is hosting a two day conference in November in Sydney. The event is an opportunity for the mental health sector to gather and discuss the impact of the NDIS, hear case studies from areas where the NDIS has already rolled out, and to plan for future full scheme roll out. The conference is being run with the support of the National Disability Insurance Agency.
Event details and tickets are yet to be released, but you can register your interest through the Eventbrite website.
A conference for Aboriginal People Living with Disability
First Peoples Disability Network is hosting a conference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW with disability to learn about how to engage with the NDIS. There are a variety of guest speakers including Disability Discrimination Commissioner Alastair McEwin. You can find out more via the Eventbrite link.
Navigating the NDIS Training in NSW
The Mental Health Coordinating Council of NSW is providing training offering an introduction to the NDIS from a NSW mental health perspective. The training has been developed to assist people in NSW with NDIS transition between 2016 and 2019 and is suitable for all interested in learning more about the NDIS from a mental health/psychosocial disability perspective. More information is available on the Mental Health Coordinating Council website.
Open Grant Round: Partners in the Community Program
The NDIA is inviting organisations to apply for funding to deliver Local Area Coordination Services and/or Early Childhood Early Intervention Services in areas of Queensland, South Australia and Victoria that are scheduled to transition to the NDIS prior to July 2018.
The NDIS Partners in the Community Program Grant Round Two is open until Friday 5 May 2017 at 2:00pm AEST. More information is available on the NDIS website.
NDIS telephone scam
The NDIA has advised that it “is aware of a potential scam involving people claiming to be from NDIA attempting to collect personal details via telephone.” If you would like to know about the scam and learn about how to protect your personal information or that of the people you work with, more information is provided on the NDIS website.
WA Government releases NDIS evaluation report
The Western Australian government has published a report that compares the WA NDIS and National NDIS models after disability advocates in the state have called for its release. This follows the recent decision to go ahead with the state based model instead of the national scheme.
The report contains recommendations on how the NDIS can be improved in WA. However, questions have been raised over the evaluation methodology, particularly the lack of engagement with consumers. There are ongoing concerns that WA residents with disability will be disadvantaged under the state based model.
The WA NDIS Evaluation Report can be found on the WA Disability Services Commission website.
Keep in touch
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• If you have any questions about the above please email Emma Coughlan at info@mhaustralia.org
