NDIS future is secured

THE future of the NDIS, the scheme that provides care for Australians with a disability, is guaranteed after the government increased the Medicare levy by 0.5 per cent to fully fund it in last night’s Budget.

Social Services Minister Christian Porter said the levy increase, which will cost a worker on average earnings $400 a year, will fill the $3.8 billion a year funding hole in the scheme set up by the Gillard Government.

When fully operational in 2020, the scheme will cost $21 billion and is forecast to provide care for 460,000 Australians who have a severe disability.

More than 60,000 Australians currently have care plans funded under the NDIS.

Under the NDIS, people with a disability are able to choose the type of services they need and their care providers.