National Disability Insurance Scheme
In 2013, the Australian Government introduced the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIS provides funding for people with disability (1) (including people with psychosocial disability) to enable them to purchase reasonable and necessary supports.
Mental Health Australia’s work in relation to the NDIS includes raising policy and implementation issues, capacity building and information sharing.
Policy and implementation issues
Mental Health Australia provides advice to governments and other stakeholders on NDIS issues raised by mental health consumers, carers and the service providers. This is part of our role as the peak, national non-government organisation representing and promoting the interests of the Australian mental health sector.
Key Mental Health Australia policy submissions on the NDIS and information about our involvement with the National Disability Insurance Agency Mental Health Sector Reference Group can be found on our NDIS Policy and Implementation Issues page (click here).
Capacity building
Between 2014 and 2016 Mental Health Australia was funded through the NDIS Sector Development Fund to build the capacity of people with a psychosocial disability, their carers and service providers to engage with the NDIS. Information about this project can be found on our NDIS Capacity Building Project webpage (click here).
Information sharing
As part of the above-mentioned project, Mental Health Australia compiled a range of information on mental health and the NDIS, which is available at our NDIS Mental Health Information Portal (click here). This includes resources for mental health consumers, carers, service providers and policy professionals.
Keep up to Date!
To keep up to date with NDIS and mental health policy and implementation issues please sign up to our regular NDIS Mental Health Network updates (please click here). You can also view our previous updates (please click here).
1. The National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum (NMHCCF) uses the term ‘psychosocial disability’ to describe “the disability experience of people with impairments and participation restrictions related to mental health conditions”. See the NMHCCF website for more details (click here).
