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The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is changing in WA. What can people expect?
Big changes to the way the almost $50 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme works in Western Australia are on the way.
The NDIS benefits more than 62,000 people in the west but is one of the most complicated funding programs to administer. Even the WA government admits it's complex.
So, what's changing and who will it affect?
Since its inception WA has had its own method of rolling out the NDIS, which financially supports people with significant and permanent disabilities.
From July 1, WA will now pay fixed, up-front funding contributions each year to the NDIS, with the Commonwealth chipping in the rest.
It means there will be a predictable and fixed pool of money for service providers to work with.
NDIS Minister Mark Butler said the new arrangement meant its future is secure, and those who access it will continue to receive support.
A WA advisory council made up of people with lived experience and expert backgrounds will be created to advise government on how the NDIS is working, and advocate for those who use it.
At the same time, several pricing changes kick in next week that the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) said would make sure claims were proportionate to the services being delivered.
For example, therapists can now only bill 50 per cent of their hourly rate for travel time, while there are cuts of up to $10 per hour on some physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics and psychology rates.
Both the new WA funding model, as well as the pricing changes, begin on Tuesday.
The state government said the changes would particularly support people in regional and remote areas.
But we've heard from some people in regional WA who are concerned their access to services will dwindle.
In the state's north, Wickham mother of two Janel Went said support like speech and occupational therapy for her daughters were crucial and alternatives, including long-distance travel, were not viable.
"Our little ones are too young — they need to have therapy in person," she said.
Meanwhile in the state's south, behaviour analyst Liz Martin said her business has had to absorb costs, going on a seventh consecutive year with no increase in therapy pricing.
She said the changes to the NDIS have been "confusing" and cuts to travel will affect their outreach services.
"This is not a money-making business, this is a service industry and we want the best for every one of our families," she said.
The NDIS is firm that there were no changes to people's plans due to price decreases.
"These changes will help ensure value for participants accessing supports and equality for participants around the nation," the NDIS said in its explanation about the changes.
"The NDIS believes the markets are strong enough that participants will still have access to the supports they need."
Unfortunately, alongside the life-changing assistance the NDIS ideally provides, some people have "rorted" the system and abused its funding.
Last year the NDIS itself said criminal rorting of the social service was worse than anticipated.
In the 2023-2024 financial year, it was estimated at least $8 billion dollars of funding intended for NDIS participants was being abused by crime groups.
This culminated in the federal government passing the 'Getting the NDIS Back on Track' bill through parliament last year, which sought to increase the agency's power to clamp down on rorting.
In the 2023-24 financial year, NDIS participant supports costs totalled $3.6 billion in WA.
The federal government paid $2.3 billion, while the WA government put in $1.3 billion.
While it is unclear exactly what the new agreement will now cost, the state's latest budget papers say WA's contribution to the NDIS will work out to about $1.5 billion a year on average.
We do know the federal government will pay $842.9 million to reimburse WA for expenditure associated with administering the NDIS.
