Submission to the NDIS Review

On Thursday 18 May 2023, Mental Health Australia made a submission to the NDIS Review, following consultation with members through a Members Policy Hub process.

The submission answers five questions posed to Mental Health Australia by the NDIS Review Co-Chair Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM. In doing so it calls for changes to the NDIS Rules to clarify eligibility for the scheme for people with psychosocial disability alongside changes to the access assessment approach. The submission outlines what services could be funded both through and outside the scheme for early intervention in relation to psychosocial disability. The submission also describes what Tier 2 support should look like for people with psychosocial disability, calling on Australian Governments to fund psychosocial support outside the NDIS to meet need.

The submission describes barriers to access to allied health support for people with psychosocial disability calling on the Australian Government to undertake further work to increase affordability of and access to psychiatric and allied health support for all people with psychosocial disability, whether NDIS participants or not. Finally, the submission outlines a range of issues that need to be addressed in order for the NDIS to better meet the needs of people with psychosocial disability including NDIS pricing, the makeup of NDIS plans, responding to the episodic nature of psychosocial disability and supported decision making with people with psychosocial disability.