A review of the NDIS laws
Please tell us what you think
Easy Read version
How to use this document
This information is written in an easy to read way.
Ernst and Young are helping the government find out what people
think about the NDIS laws.
When you see the word ‘we’, it means Ernst and Young.
We are also sometimes called EY.
Some words are written in bold. We explain what these words mean.
There is a list of these words on page 15.
This Easy Read document is a summary of another document.
You can find the longer document on our website at
www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/governance/ndis-act-review
You can ask for help to read this document.
A friend, family member or support person may be able to help you.
What’s in this document?
The laws for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
3
How the NDIS laws were made
4
What are we reviewing?
4
The people who can use the NDIS
5
Planning
6
Support providers
8
The people who can help you use the NDIS
9
What to do if you don’t agree with a decision
10
Money and compensation
11
Managing the NDIS
12
How to tell us what you think
13
About your ideas
14
Word list
15
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The laws for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a new way of supporting
people with disability.
It is often called the NDIS.
There are laws that explain how the NDIS works.
Laws are the rules that we all must follow.
Laws are made by the government and
the courts.
There are 2 parts to the NDIS laws:
1. The NDIS Act – this is the main law. It sets out the overall policy.
2. The NDIS Rules – these are a set of rules that provide more detail
about the NDIS.
The NDIS Act says that the laws need to be checked to make sure that
they are working well.
This needs to happen 2 years after the laws started.
That’s why we are doing this review.
The government has asked us to review the laws.
Over the next few weeks, we will be meeting with people and talking
about the NDIS laws.
We are also asking people to write to us and tell us what they think.
Please see page 13 to find out how to tell us what you think.
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In this document, we explain the important areas that we want to know
about.
You can read about these areas on the following pages.
We also include some questions to think about.
These questions are just ideas.
You don’t have to answer them.
You might like to share other ideas with us instead.
How the NDIS laws were made
The NDIS laws were made by the Parliament.
The NDIS started in 2013.
Since then, people have been using the NDIS in some parts of Australia.
Over the next few years, the NDIS will start to be used in all parts
of Australia.
What are we reviewing?
We are looking at the way the NDIS laws are working in practice.
We want to know whether the laws:
 are doing what they were designed to do
 can be made simpler
 make sure money is being used the best way possible
 work well in all states and territories
 need any other changes.
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On the following pages, we explain the main areas that we are looking
into, including:
 the people who can use the NDIS
 planning
 service providers
 the people who can help you use the NDIS
 the way decisions are reviewed
 money and compensation
 managing the NDIS.
The people who can use the NDIS
The laws explain who can use the NDIS.
The laws say that, to use the NDIS, you must be:
 under 65
 an Australian resident, or people who have a certain type of visa –
like some people from New Zealand
 live in an area that is using the NDIS
 have a disability.
There are rules about the type of disability you have. These rules say:
 you must have a disability that affects some or all parts of your
daily life, and the way you can take part in the community
 the disability is likely to be permanent –
it won’t go away over time
 you are likely to need support from the NDIS for the rest of your
life.
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The laws also talk about early intervention.
This is a way of using therapy and support as early as possible. The
early use of therapy and support can improve people’s lives.
Questions to think about
Are there any ways that we can improve the laws about who can use the
NDIS? Can we make this simpler or clearer?
Can we improve the laws about early intervention?
Do the laws support other laws and agreements that apply to disability
in Australia?
Planning
When you start using the NDIS, you need to have a plan.
This plan explains:
 what you want to do with your life
 how you’re going to achieve your goals
 when the plan will be reviewed to make sure it is working well
 how the plan will be managed.
The plan outlines the support you need to reach your goals.
According to the NDIS laws, the support you receive must be
reasonable and necessary.
Reasonable means that something is just about right. It is balanced. It’s
not more or less than what you could expect.
Necessary means what you need.
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The laws says that, under the NDIS, reasonable and necessary
supports:
 help you to reach your goals
 encourage you to take part in the community
 offer good value for money
 are good quality
 include families, carers and other people in the community who
help you in everyday life
 can’t be paid for by other parts of the government, like the health
system, or the education system.
Questions to think about
What do you think about reasonable and necessary supports?
How do you think the laws about planning can be improved?
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Support providers
When you use the NDIS, you can choose your support provider.
This is an important idea because it means you have more choice about
who you work with.
Some support providers are registered on a list with the NDIS.
But you don’t have to only choose providers from this list.
You can choose other support providers if you are managing your
own plan.
No matter who you choose to work with you, it’s important that you are
safe, and that you get good quality services.
Earlier this year, the Government and the NDIS started talking to people
in the community to learn more about this.
This is called the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework.
You can find out more about it here:
https://engage.dss.gov.au/ndis-qsf/
The Government will keep working on this Framework until it is ready to
be used.
Questions to think about
Does the list help make sure that providers offer good services, or does
it limit your choices?
Is it easy enough for providers to get on the list?
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The people who can help you use the NDIS
Some people can make decisions about their life on their own.
Others need help.
Some people have a nominee.
This is a person who you trust who helps you make decisions.
A nominee can help you with:
 managing your money
 reading and paperwork
 planning and supports.
When a nominee helps you, they should:
 respect your right to make decisions
 listen to you
 help you to communicate what you want
 act on what you want to do.
Questions to think about
What do you think about using a nominee?
How can we make sure that the laws about nominees respect the rights
choices of people with disability?
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What to do if you don’t agree with a decision
Sometimes, people don’t agree with the decisions made under
the NDIS.
For example, you might not agree with a decision about the amount of
funding you will receive.
Or you might not agree with a decision about the type of support you
can use.
In these situations, you can ask for a review.
This means that the NDIS will look at the decision again.
Usually, this happens in an internal review – a review that is done
inside the NDIS.
If you’re still not happy with the decision, you can ask for the
Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to look at the decision again.
The AAT is an organisation that reviews government decisions. They are
outside the NDIS.
Questions to think about
Do you have any ideas about improving the way reviews are managed?
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Money and compensation
Some people receive compensation. This is money that is paid to make
up for a loss or other problem that has occurred.
For example, you might receive compensation if you have a disability
that was caused by an accident.
Compensation is a bit different to the money that is provided by
the NDIS.
The NDIS laws say that the NDIS needs to think about whether or not
you have received compensation.
This might affect the amount of money you receive to pay for
your supports.
You might need to pay for some or all of your supports from the
compensation you have received.
The NDIS laws also explain what to do if someone owes money to the
NDIS. These are called debts.
If a mistake has been made, or if someone has lied to the NDIS, the
NDIS can ask for the money back.
Questions to think about
What do you think about the compensation laws?
Do you have any ideas about the way the NDIS can ask for debts
to be paid?
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Managing the NDIS
The NDIS is run by many different people, including:
 The Australian Government
 Governments in the states and territories
 People who work for the NDIS
 NDIS Board
The NDIS Board are a group of people who make sure the NDIS is
running properly.
They are chosen by Disability Ministers.
They look after:
o how well the NDIS works
o how the NDIS might work in the future.
 The independent advisory council – a group of people who don’t
work for the government or the NDIS – they are independent.
This council must include:
- people with disability
- carers of people with disability
- people who have experience working with people with
disability – including in rural and regional areas.
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These people work together to make sure the NDIS meets its goals,
including things like:
 helping people to take part in the community
 offering people choice and control
 respecting people with disability
 keeping people safe but also letting people make decisions and
take risks if that’s right for them.
 making sure the NDIS uses its money well
 helping people working in disability services to learn and improve
the way they work
 helping to change attitudes about disability in the community
 researching disability and finding new ways of doing things
 making sure people in the NDIS get supports they need.
Questions to think about
Do the laws help make the NDIS achieve its goals?
Can the laws be changed to improve the way the NDIS is run?
How to tell us what you think
You can share your ideas with us in the following ways:
Write to us at:
Review of the NDIS Act
Ernst & Young
GPO Box 281
Canberra ACT 2601
Email us at: ndisactreview@au.ey.com
Please tell us what you think by 9 October 2015.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
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About your ideas
We will read all the ideas that people share with us.
We might put your ideas on a website.
We might put your ideas in a document, such as a report.
If we do this, other people will be able to read your ideas.
If you don’t want this to happen, please tell us.
We can keep your ideas confidential.
We will keep personal information, like names and addresses, private.
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Word list
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is an organisation that reviews
government decisions.
Compensation
Money that is paid to make up for a loss or other problem that
has occurred.
Early intervention
This is a way of using therapy and support as early as possible. The
early use of therapy and support can improve people’s lives.
Laws
Laws are the rules that we all must follow.
Laws are made by the government and the courts.
NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework
A plan to help keep people safe and make sure they are receiving good
services when using disability support.
You can find out about the Framework here:
https://engage.dss.gov.au/ndis-qsf/
Nominee
This is a person who you trust who helps you make decisions.
Reasonable and necessary
Reasonable means that something is just about right. It is balanced. It’s
not more or less than what you could expect.
Necessary means what you need.
Rights
The way that we all expect to be treated fairly.
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