| Neena Bhandari Xtremecare Australia

Why are First Nations Australians less likely to have a self-managed NDIS Plan?

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 14.07.2022 (Hireup News): Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are less likely to have a self-managed NDIS plan than a plan-managed or an NDIA-managed plan, according to Indigenous disability providers. Self-management offers participants greater control over their funding and choice of supports and services. It allows the flexibility to purchase services and products from providers that are not NDIS registered, for example.

So, what is keeping Indigenous participants from availing this option? “The scheme is complex enough to navigate for most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, let alone the idea of managing the payment for services and budgeting for it,” says Shanelle Beazley, sector development coordinator at the Kurranulla Aboriginal Corporation in Jannali, NSW.

Of the 19,556 participants who received an NDIS plan during the most recently reported quarter, 9.1 per cent identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. Over the past two years, the proportion of participants who self-manage all or part of their plan has been stable at 30 per cent; those who use a plan manager has increased to 53 per cent; and those who have a fully NDIA-managed plan has decreased to 17 per cent.

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Challenges providers face in delivering disability supports to remote Indigenous communities

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 27.05.22 (HireUp): Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are twice as likely to experience disability, and more likely to experience increased barriers to accessing disability supports compared to non-indigenous Australians. In this first of the three articles, Indigenous service providers share the many challenges they face in delivering disability services and supports to their communities in remote, regional and rural areas.

“Many people in rural and remote Indigenous communities still do not know about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and its role and functions in disability care,” says William Tatipata, Managing Director of Xtremecare Australia, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disability service. “We begin with making them aware of the scheme [how to apply and obtain a disability assessment] and then educating them on the supports and services the scheme offers.”

Tatipata says, “Our people are confused around what services and supports are covered by ‘health’ and what falls under the NDIS. If a diabetic person requires a new diabetes monitor, for example, it is covered by ‘health’. But if the participant’s motor skills are impaired, the NDIS will fund the monitor following a functionality assessment by an occupational therapist.”

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