Take a breath and listen to the carers

Better disability scheme relies on taking feedback seriously, says Janine Arnold

THERE is an old saying in business — the customer is always right.

With the National Disability Insurance Scheme rolling out across the country in earnest, the Federal Government has the opportunity to take a breath and listen to carers and those they care for — who is now the ‘customer’ as a result of these reforms — to make sure it achieves what it was intended to.

The priority of the NDIS is to provide a better life for hundreds of thousands of Australians with a significant and permanent disability — and their family member who provides additional care.

Carers Tasmania is supportive of the NDIS and its goal of improving the lives of all Australians, but such a revolutionary change in the way services are delivered must be done with the end user in mind, the impact it has on them and their family.

This is not just a big change in the way social services are delivered; this is a major reform of the Australian economy with social services — and therefore some of the most vulnerable people — at the front end.

Carers Tasmania is dedicated to improving the quality of life of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ estimated 84,000 family carers living in the state.

Carers Tasmania is therefore at the centre of the conversation about how the NDIS implementation is going.

Recently a Carers Tasmania survey of family carers found some feel the NDIS is adding an unexpected burden to the caring role. Often this is the complexity of navigating this new and evolving system.

And there is a sometimes inaccurate assumption that the care provided by NDIS will replace the care provided by family members. The results of this survey illustrate this is not the case.

A mother, father, daughter, son, sister, brother, is absolutely critical to the success of the NDIS (not to mention the support the informal care givers provide to the broader health system for our nation).

Consequently, in recommending improved access to respite for unpaid carers in its report on NDIS costs, the Productivity Commission acknowledged that: “Informal care, and the ability to call upon informal carers, is a vital part of the supports provided by the NDIS”.

This reiterates the view of Carers Tasmania and many other organisations — that the NDIS and other changes to the way social services are delivered are not necessarily the ‘fix-all’ for people in need of support.

That care is provided by the family member and friends, and in implementing these reforms carers need to continue to be supported.

This is particularly relevant given findings of the survey by Carers Tasmania, which include:

More than half, 57 per cent, of carer respondents, find it challenging or very challenging to source relevant and appropriate services for the person they care for.

Two in five, 40 per cent, of carers self-managing the NDIS plan for the person they care for find it fairly difficult, and 9 per cent of carers are not coping at all.

Almost 70 per cent of carers that responded indicated nothing has changed in terms of having more time out for themselves as a result of the NDIS plan for their carer recipient. Some have less time.

We cannot presume the NDIS is going to magically improve the lives of all carers and the people they care for.

Like any product or service, feedback of customers needs to be taken on board, to ensure some of our most vulnerable people are not disadvantaged further.