NDIS Registration Taskforce considers key concerns from disability advocates and community

FRIDAY, 7 JUNE 2024

Disability service providers and the disability workforce are about to undergo significant reform with an overhaul of the registration system. Our organisations have made joint recommendations to the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce to guide changes to the registration system.

Following months of consultation, the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce recently held a webinar to share what they’ve heard [Session recording]. We were pleased to see the Taskforce listened to some of the key issues discussed in our joint recommendations, including:

Agreement that the current registration system is not working to make services good quality and safe for people with disability;
Concerns about the impact of changes on choice and control for people with disability; and
Fears of losing the ability to purchase items from mainstream stores, like buying consumables at supermarkets and online marketplaces.

Changes must be led by people with disability

People with disability need to lead and shape the changes to the systems and supports that people with disability rely upon. This is critical for any changes to the registration system to work. Our organisations, as disability representatives, jointly advocated for principles that should guide the Government, and the Taskforce, as they make decisions about registration.

These principles include:

choice and control for people both inside and outside the NDIS as well as safer and higher quality services and supports
meaningful codesign, including the development of any risk-based assessment framework
consultation with people with disability, including people who need support for decision making and those living in regional, rural and remote areas
access to independent support for decision making and access to capacity building information and support to engage
Consideration of how to address Services for One, purchasing consumables from mainstream services, directly employing disability support workers and the role of independent disability advocacy.

Registration Taskforce’s three big ideas

While making clear no decisions have been reached, it was promising to see that the Taskforce shared their three big ideas. These were informed from their consultations with the community about:

Defining a disability service provider;
Self-directed supports; and
Worker Registration.

You can learn more about these idea from Team DSC’s analysis: The Registration Taskforce’s 3 big ideas.

Upcoming roundtables

There are two roundtables remaining, providing an opportunity for the sector and community to engage with the Taskforce on what they have heard during consultations on the new graduated risk-proportionate regulatory model proposed in the NDIS Review Final Report. You can now register for one of the following:

Tuesday, 11 June 2024, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (AEST); and
Friday, 14 June 2024, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (AEST).

We encourage our community to take opportunities to engage with the Taskforce and ask questions about proposed reforms.

We will continue to advocate for people with disability

We want all of our proposed principles reflected in the Taskforce’s final report to Minister Shorten that is due by the end of June 2024. We must see the Government genuinely work with the disability community, and our organisations, through meaningful consultation and codesign at every stage of reform.

For more info see our full proposed principles and recommendations.

The following Principles Proposal, Submission and Public Statement were prepared by Disability Advocacy Network Australia, in their role as the National Coordination Function for the Disability Representative Organisations program, with the following organisations endorsing: