NDIS costs will still need to be reined in, but this autism plan is a good start
The NDIS cost more than $46 billion last year and is projected to cost more than $58 billion by 2028. At the current rate, it will exceed 2.1 per cent of Australia's GDP by 2033-34, with only support to seniors and revenue assistance to the states and territories costing the federal budget more.
These burgeoning costs need to be reined in, and this week's reform announcements by Health Minister Mark Butler are a step in the right direction.
Beyond the budgetary imperatives, NDIS reform is also vital because the scheme as currently designed is ill equipped to meet the needs of some of the 740,000 Australians who rely on it. In particular, the NDIS has become what Butler described on Wednesday as the only port in the storm for hundreds of thousands of families of children with developmental delay and autism.
Nearly half of all NDIS participants today are children with developmental delay or autism. One in nine 6-year-olds – and one in seven 6-year-old boys – are now in the scheme. Most were expected to need only short-term help, yet in practice many stay for the long haul. Each child who remains in the scheme for life could cost the NDIS $2 million or more.
But the NDIS design is not well suited to delivering timely and evidence-based early intervention. Loosely allocating money to families, who must then differentiate between therapies in the marketplace under pressure from providers, is not the optimal approach.
Loading
We have spent too long admiring this problem and almost as long prevaricating over the solution, so Butler's National Press Club speech about correcting course and introducing a 'Thriving Kids' program is welcome.
Thriving Kids is the new name for the foundational supports – disability-specific supports outside of individual NDIS packages – that the 2023 NDIS Review called for as an alternative for many children aged up to nine.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
23 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Coalition launches pre-emptive strike on Chalmers' tax agenda
The opposition has opened up a new political battleground over tax, declaring Labor has no mandate to raise taxes after Treasurer Jim Chalmers said cabinet could consider potential reforms this term. At the end of this week's three-day economic reform roundtable in Canberra, Chalmers made pointed remarks about making the tax system fairer for younger Australians and less burdensome on companies. Shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien and finance spokesman James Paterson said the Coalition, weakened in parliament by a heavy election loss, would fight any hikes, which may include Bill Shorten-era proposals to tax superannuation earnings, property and trusts more heavily. 'There's no doubt that the entire tax system needs to be reviewed so it can be more efficient,' O'Brien said on Channel Nine's Today show. 'But you do not increase taxes to grow the economy.' Paterson added on ABC: 'Anthony Albanese only said last week that the government would not make any tax changes that they didn't take to the election. And yet, Jim Chalmers wasn't able to say the same at the press conference yesterday and is ominously talking about what sound like quite significant tax changes to fix his spending problem.' Outcomes from the economic roundtable included what Chalmers described as 'quick wins' on road user charges, accelerating environmental reform, abolishing nuisance tariffs, and streamlining the construction code to build more homes. Economist Saul Eslake judged that these changes were helpful but not revelatory. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said of the roundtable: 'As the [ Sydney Morning Herald and The Age ] themselves reported, most of Jim Chalmers' checklist 'had been known before the start'. This was no reform summit. It was a tax talkfest.' In his wrap-up of the summit on Thursday evening, Chalmers said his department would start exploring ideas on reforming the tax system with a view to restoring intergenerational fairness. Leading think tanks and experts have long called for lower income tax rates for working Australians trying to pay off mortgages, and higher taxes on assets and possibly consumption taxes from the GST.
The Age
23 minutes ago
- The Age
Coalition launches pre-emptive strike on Chalmers' tax agenda
The opposition has opened up a new political battleground over tax, declaring Labor has no mandate to raise taxes after Treasurer Jim Chalmers said cabinet could consider potential reforms this term. At the end of this week's three-day economic reform roundtable in Canberra, Chalmers made pointed remarks about making the tax system fairer for younger Australians and less burdensome on companies. Shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien and finance spokesman James Paterson said the Coalition, weakened in parliament by a heavy election loss, would fight any hikes, which may include Bill Shorten-era proposals to tax superannuation earnings, property and trusts more heavily. 'There's no doubt that the entire tax system needs to be reviewed so it can be more efficient,' O'Brien said on Channel Nine's Today show. 'But you do not increase taxes to grow the economy.' Paterson added on ABC: 'Anthony Albanese only said last week that the government would not make any tax changes that they didn't take to the election. And yet, Jim Chalmers wasn't able to say the same at the press conference yesterday and is ominously talking about what sound like quite significant tax changes to fix his spending problem.' Outcomes from the economic roundtable included what Chalmers described as 'quick wins' on road user charges, accelerating environmental reform, abolishing nuisance tariffs, and streamlining the construction code to build more homes. Economist Saul Eslake judged that these changes were helpful but not revelatory. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said of the roundtable: 'As the [ Sydney Morning Herald and The Age ] themselves reported, most of Jim Chalmers' checklist 'had been known before the start'. This was no reform summit. It was a tax talkfest.' In his wrap-up of the summit on Thursday evening, Chalmers said his department would start exploring ideas on reforming the tax system with a view to restoring intergenerational fairness. Leading think tanks and experts have long called for lower income tax rates for working Australians trying to pay off mortgages, and higher taxes on assets and possibly consumption taxes from the GST.
Perth Now
23 minutes ago
- Perth Now
State ‘not consulted' over NDIS reform
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says he was not consulted over plans to massively reform how children receive support under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Federal Health Minister Mark Butler on Wednesday announced the Thriving Kids program, which he hoped would be up and running by July 2026. The program will seek to divert children with mild intellectual developmental delays or autism away from the beleaguered NDIS. Asked if the announcement took him by surprise, Mr Mookhey told a budget estimates hearing on Friday that he 'was not consulted'. He said he did not know if other states or territories had been consulted, stating 'the federal Disability Minister has made clear, this has been the subject of some conversation with disability ministers'. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says he was not consulted over the Thriving Kids program. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia Asked if he thought it was 'unusual' that the states and territories were not consulted beforehand given the program would require 'substantial funding', Mr Mookhey said: 'It's not for me to characterise. 'Other than that to say that we are obviously looking forward to the Commonwealth providing us a bit more detail about the intention for foundational support through the Thriving Kids program and the associated health.' NSW Premier Chris Minns earlier said he had been looped in ahead of time regarding the Thriving Kids announcement but without much warning. The Premier said he would not 'sign a blank cheque' for a program he did not have the details of, but he 'will commit to working with the Commonwealth to have a sustainable disability support program'. Health Minister Ryan Park told budget estimates on Thursday that his government would not be picking up the bill for the Commonwealth's new program. Mr Park said he wasn't briefed on the specific details of the federal government announcement, a $2bn commitment to the new program that Mr Butler said state budgets would have to contribute to. Health Minister Mark Butler hopes the program will be up and running by July 2026. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'I'm aware and cognisant of the need to reform disability care,' Mr Park said. 'What I'm not going to see happen is this just shifted to the states and us picking up the bill through a reduction in health funding agreement. 'We need to get the Commonwealth to what they committed to in terms of healthcare funding.' Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said she was also not told ahead of time about the program. Nor were Queensland and Western Australian disability ministers Hannah Beazley and Amanda Camm. 'Today was the first time we'd heard about the minister's Thriving Kids program,' Ms Camm said on Wednesday. 'We look forward to continuing our work supporting the federal government given the NDIS is their responsibility.'
