Wheelchair bound since 1982, 57-year-old Bega resident Rudy Warren says he has concerns over decision making delays in implementing residents’ National Disability Insurance Scheme plans.
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It appears to me the people benefiting the most from the NDIS are the people in the middle making money, and the high cost of plan management is a waste.
- Bega resident Rudy Warren
Mr Warren said he was forced to approach Eden-Monaro MP Mike Kelly’s office last year for assistance in expediting receiving a wheelchair from his Anglicare managed plan, and this year waited over four months for news on whether he would receive a desperately needed lift chair.
Interestingly, Mr Warren received confirmation of his lift chair on Wednesday, the same day Bega District News contacted the National Disability Insurance Agency for comment on his wait.
“Everyone I speak to is finding the same thing, they are fed up with waiting,” he said.
“People are feeling the money allocated to them is being held back, and they are not getting what they need.
“It appears to me the people benefiting the most from the NDIS are the people in the middle making money, and the high cost of plan management is a waste.
“The problem with the system is they make is so complex they don’t understand their own complexity,” he said.
The NDIA, which administers the scheme, admitted there had been issues with “timeliness in decision making” for crucial assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices, and it is working at ironing out the problems with “an improved process” for assessments.
An NDIS spokesperson said the “timeframe for the planning process differs between participants” due to the “individualised nature of the NDIS, variability in the complexity of plan development, evidence gathering and interactions with participants”.
Last week the government said NDIS Quarterly Report figures show 93 per cent of participants rate their experience as either “Very Good” or “Good”.
Federal social services minister Paul Fletcher admitted the roll out is a “complex and difficult task”, and said the NDIA has been “working hard to reform the participant pathway”.
Dr Kelly said his office receives at least one inquiry each week for NDIS assistance.
“It is evident from the inquiries that many people in the community are still struggling to navigate the services or there are delays in getting the equipment and support they need.”