By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 27.05.21 (Hireup): When Monique Power approached a local private paediatric physiotherapy practice and told them that her daughter, who was born with a rare and sporadic disability, was a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participant, they increased their standard consultation fee by $100. When she queried the price gap, the provider couldn’t give any reasonable justification apart from saying, “We thought that is what we were meant to be charging”.
“Their lack of knowledge, moral compass and sheer ignorance of the nuances of the NDIS is unfortunately not an isolated occurrence”, says Power, Founder of RippleAbility, which helps parents and carers to access and optimise their NDIS Plans.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) provides funding to NDIS participants to purchase a range of reasonable and necessary supports to increase independence, and social and economic participation. This funding is provided through individual participant budgets and the amount NDIA pays for these supports is set in the NDIS Price Guide, which is updated annually on 1st July.