DISABILITY INTERMEDIARIES AUSTRALIA RESPONDS TO NDIA DECISION REMOVING SUPPORT COORDINATION FUNDING FROM CORE

DID THE NDIA SAY THAT THEY COMMUNICATED THAT ALL COVID-19 RESPONSE MEASURES WERE UNDER REVIEW?

NO.

At no point since October has the NDIA indicated that CORE flexibility for Support Coordination would be reviewed before the end of February 2021.

All communication released by the NDIA about reviews into COVID-19 measures did not include CORE flexibility for Support Coordination.

The NDIS Price Guide Addendum 01 (version 20210208) last updated on the 8th February 2021, and prior to that the 1^st December 2020) specifies the designated areas and the time periods for each COVID19 support item.

DIA notes this document lists time periods for all supports EXCEPT for CORE flexibility for Support Coordination and notes:
“The support coordination items were duplicated into the Daily Life Support Category (CORE) so that participants could have greater access to Support Coordination services if they needed them.”

Further the NDIA’s website specifically lists CORE flexibility for Support Coordination as ongoing and separate to those with an end date of 28 Feb 21. DIA has been told by the NDIA on nemerious occasions that the ‘tempory’ line items for the CORE felxability of Support Coorindation would remain indefinatly ‘at least until plan flexability is intorduced’.

WHEN WILL THIS HAPPEN?

The duplicate line items in CORE will end on Sunday (28 Feb), which is unbelievably short notice for such a shift in service provision and doesn’t even meet the NDIA’s own definition of a short-term cancellation, 2 full business days, let alone enough time for Coordinators to cease supports in a safe and considered way in line with the NDIS Commission continuity of service provisions.

WHATS THE PARTICIPANT IMPACT?

DIA late yesterday evening launched an open survey better understand and quantify the impacts to participants.

At the time of publishing DIA has received 462 responses with more coming in each minute. DIA is still compiling the responses however initial responses indicate that:

• More than 52% surveyed have indicated that:
  ‘I was told by my planner/LAC that I would have the flexibility to use my Core funds for Support Coordination’

DIA has heard of this messaging being given to Participants within the last 3 days!

• Almost 70% surveyed have indicate that:
  ‘You can’t just stop Support Coordination with two days’ notice! I need time to get a plan review first!’

DIA has been collecting the impacts to participants in their own words to understand how this change will impact them:

“It means I will not be able to top up my Support Coordination funding. This means I will be worse off”

“My plan was rolled over without review a few days ago with not enough support coordination funding last year – I drew on core.  So now I will have no core to draw the extra on.”

“The NDIS is not a simple system to navigate, without being able to access support coordination PWD (people with a disability) will be disadvantaged and will miss out on important support some could be life threatening. My brother is a quadriplegic and homeless at the moment and have used most of our funds for SDA reports. We have put in a change of circumstances. We will need to use core for our support coordinator. What are we going to do …..”

“I won’t be able to get help from my support coordinator to use my plan, or to make decisions about what supports I can buy. My LAC (NDIA Contracted Local Area Coordinator) is useless and has not done anything at all to help me or make sure I am using my plan. I am worried I will go back to being isolated and experience psychosocial impacts of my disability to a severe degree.”

“My step son lives with ASD level 3, selective mutism (will only talk to his younger brother) and refuses to leave his room unless it’s to work out. My husband and I are at breaking point as we don’t know where to access help. We have tried for 2 years now to get help and it’s been a struggle. Josh (my step son) is 19 years old and we still do everything for him. We need help to find other services and only just found a Support Coordinator who is willing and able to help us access the supports we desperately need. We have asked for Support Coordination multiple times and for some reason we never receive it. God forbid something happens to us as Josh wouldn’t have a clue what to do and would have no one there to help him.”

“My planning meeting is coming up in about a month, have not commenced gathering documents are planning for it due to waiting for a lot of appointments that were postponed during Covid and wanting everything to be as up-to-date as possible. Now if it takes more hours than I have left (in my Capacity Building Budget) there will be no help. The system has changed a lot things that I rely on like milk prep and delivery I hear by the grapevine have changed how I need to apply, and this is the kind of thing my Support Coordinator helps with for every planning meeting. I have a tiny bit of Support Coordination left in my plan and now I’m going to have the ridiculous conundrum of using it for actual help and support to connect me or trying to preserve it for planning meeting as I can’t be sure of the time for a review.”

WHATS THE  IMPACT ON SUPPORT COORDINATORS?

To ask that Support Coordinators transition and cease services to participants with less than 2 business days of formal notice is unrealistic, unfair and in some cases unsafe, resulting in poor continuity of support and diminished outcomes for participants.

DIA late yesterday evening launched an open survey better understand and quantify the impacts to Support Coordination Providers.

At the time of publishing DIA has received 506 responses with more coming in each minute. DIA is still compiling the responses however initial responses indicate that:

• On average this decision will effect more than 1 in 5 participants currently being supported by a Support Coordinator using this flexibility (24%).
• For the 506 respondents this represents over 90,000 hours of work.

The NDIA has informed us that:
“From 28/02/2021, all Support Coordination items in CORE will be decommissioned. Though if you have provided support up until this date (billed from core) you should be able to complete bulk uploads for these items if you’re not up to date with claiming.”

DIA has been collecting the impacts to Support Coordinators in their own words to understand how this change will impact them:

“We are support participants have very complex needs, to have the flexibility to use CORE funds has been invaluable. The Participants we support who can no longer use their CORE will be left navigating a system that is difficult and ever changing, when they clearly need support.”

“Back to the welfare and funds rationing model! Wasn’t the NDIA trying to fix that – apparently not!”

“Our organisation will cease Support Coordination support for participants who’s capacity building budget has been exhausted. Leaving our vulnerable community at risk. We don’t want to do this, but we can’t provide support probono”.

“This will effect my business dramatically. I can’t ethically and in good consonance just cease service, like that no notice and just slam the door in the participants face. This will require weeks of transition to ensure continuity of support – weeks of service I now can’t charge for”.

“This alteration mid way through participants plans will have a huge detrimental effect on participants, Support Coordinators who are working very closely with these vulnerable individuals and family members who do not have the capacity to engage in the participants plan due to support being removed. Support Coordination is so critical to these participants due to their inability to navigate through what is necessary to provide the essential supports and utilize their funding in accordance with the NDIS act. Providing no notification in order to ensure these participants are informed and additional support can be accessed is not only irresponsible, it does not align with the values the NDIS has consistently attempted to state they uphold.
The Agency is committed to working together to deliver quality outcomes.
The Agency puts participants at the heart of everything it does.
The Agency is resilient and always has the courage to do better.
The Agency owns what it does and does the right thing. We deliver on our promises.
The question that now resides in everyone’s mind is – REALLY??