Melbourne Disability Institute

Response to the proposed modifications within the NDIS Amendment Bill 2021
The proposed changes to the NDIS Act (2013) contained in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill 2021 are significant and complex. But one thing is clear - they are some of the biggest changes proposed since the scheme began. In our submission we focus on the importance of trust and transparency and on maintaining the good governance of the scheme. We think all governments should work together to ensure the scheme lives up to its original vision and delivers for people with disability.
NDIS Participant Service Guarantee Amendment Bill - 4 November 2021 (PDF)

Response to the Joint Standing Committee inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme
The Joint Standing Committee began an inquiry into the implementation, performance and governance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), including current scheme implementation and forecasting. In our submission we provide a brief 10 Point Plan to ensure the NDIS realises its original vision of achieving greater social and economic inclusion for people with disability.
Joint Standing Committee - NDIS Submission - 1 November 2021 (PDF)

Review of the Community Visitors Scheme in  the Victorian Disability Act
The review of Community Visitors schemes conducted for the Commonwealth in 2018 concluded that Community Visitors were a valuable part of the safeguarding machine for NDIS participants – and that their role should be reflected in the NDIS Quality and Safeguard Framework. The MDI submission recommends that in the future, the role of Community Visitors in Victoria should be more individualised and nuanced based on the risks that people with disability experience as a result of their disability, other personal factors and the environment, the potential contributions of Community Visitors to the prevention of abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation of people with disability who are considered at risk, and a balancing of risks of abuse with privacy considerations and rights.
Review of the Victorian Disability Act - 29 October 2021 (PDF)

Position paper on adoption of accessible housing standards
The Melbourne Disability Institute welcomed the decision by Building Ministers on 31 April 2021 to incorporate mandatory accessible housing standards into the National Construction Code (NCC) at the Silver level from 2022 and to include the Gold Standard as a technical referral. This will lead to major improvements in the quality of life for Australians living with disability and facilitate older Australians being able to age in place. It will make Australia a more inclusive and equal society. The position paper below encourages all jurisdictions to adopt the NCC as soon as practicable, so that all Australians benefit and there are maximum economies of scale and minimum transition costs.
MDI Position Paper on the Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Proposed Regulation for Accessible Housing - June 2021 (PDF)

Response to the Department of Social Services National Disability Employment Strategy Consultation Paper
Response to the Department of Social Services National Disability Employment Strategy Consultation Paper May 2021 (PDF)
Response to the Department of Social Services National Disability Employment Strategy Consultation Paper May 2021 (Word)

Response to the National Disability Insurance Agency and Joint Standing Committee on Independent Assessments
The Melbourne Disability Institute joined with disability advocates across Australia to express significant concerns about the Federal Government’s planned changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and, in particular, the introduction of Independent Assessments (IA). The submissions below put forward an alternative way forward designed to ensure that assessments are valid, equitable and consistent, people with disability receive the support that they need and that the NDIS is sustainable, both now and into the future.
Independent Functional Assessment - Submission to the Joint Standing Committee - March 2021 (PDF)
Independent Assessments - An Analysis of the Proposed Approach by the NDIA - 22 February 2021 (PDF)

Statement on the response to COVID-19 for people with disability
MDI joined with leading health and disability researchers to call for urgent action from State and Federal governments to develop a targeted response to COVID-19 for people with disability, their families and the disability service sector.
People with Disability and COVID - CREDH Statement -16 March 2020 (PDF)

Response to the Australian Building Codes Regulatory Impact Assessment addressing a proposal to include minimum accessibility standards for housing in the National Construction Code
In 2020 the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) issued a Consultation Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) addressing a proposal to include minimum accessibility standards for housing in the National Construction Code (NCC). The Regulatory Impact Assessment is a process designed to measure the benefits and costs of any new regulation and best practice includes a qualitative analysis. As a result, MDI and the Summer Foundation have initiated three important pieces of research to help ensure the Australian Building Codes Board hears and considers the personal stories of people whose lives have been improved by accessible housing (and how the lack of accessible housing has adversely affected them). You can view more information on our advocacy on this issue here.

Accessible Housing Research Report - 22 October 2020 (PDF)
ABCB - Supplementary Information - MDI and Summer Foundation - 6 October 2020 (PDF)
Preliminary findings new housing audit - August 2020 (PDF)
Accessible Housing - The Way Forward - Submission to the Consultation RIS - 31 Aug 2021 (PDF)
Dalton and Carter - Economic Report - 18 August 2020 (PDF)

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Response to the annual NDIS Financial Sustainability Report
Submitted by Richard Madden BSc, PhD, FIAA

For the first time, the annual NDIS Financial Sustainability Report, prepared by the NDIS Scheme Actuary, has been publicly released. This new transparency from the National Disability Insurance Agency is very welcome. Key issues arising from the Report include the sharp rise in the number of participants aged 0-14, the increasingly dramatic impact of participants aged 65 and over and the continuing intake above expectations of new participants from regions where the NDIS has been in place for many years. This paper discusses the need for more detailed analyses of these significant issues than is contained in the Financial Sustainability Report.

Comments on the NDIS Annual Financial Sustainability Report 2020-21 (PDF)
Comments on the NDIS Annual Financial Sustainability Report 2020-21 (Word)