Albanese government not ‘engaging deeply and honestly’ over NDIS overhaul, Queensland premier says
The Albanese government has been accused of not engaging “deeply and honestly” with states and territories over plans to overhaul the NDIS after a landmark report recommended sweeping changes to restore confidence in the scheme and curb growing costs.
The annual budget for the scheme, which provides crucial supports for more than 600,000 Australians with a disability, is expected to rise to more than $50bn in 2025-26.
The NDIS review, handed down in December and tasked with solving the fast-rising dollar figure among other things, recommended more disability services be provided outside the scheme to relieve the government’s budgetary pressures by lowering the compounding number of new entrants.
Those services, referred to as foundational supports, would be picked up by the states and territories, with many to be set up within existing settings, such as play groups, early childhood education, and schools.
Anthony Albanese landed an initial deal in December to split the cost of those foundational supports in return for granting the states and territories a further three years of GST funding.
But speaking after the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, introduced a new NDIS bill on Wednesday, the Queensland premier, Steven Miles, said there had been “some flawed communication” between the commonwealth and state and territory governments over whether the jurisdictions would “shoulder any further burden”.
“There has certainly been a sense from our officials and our ministers that the Australian government isn’t engaging as deeply and as honestly with us. And, of course, that causes suspicion. Our suspicion is that they are trying to push costs down back on to the states,” he said.
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The New South Wales deputy premier, Prue Car, also told the ABC on Wednesday the states and territories “really need better consultation from the commonwealth government” on the proposed changes. State premiers and chief ministers had written to the federal government urging it to delay the bill until further discussions.
The bill introduced by Shorten will tweak key definitions that will overhaul how participants receive planned budgets among other changes.
Shorten hit back at suggestions the federal government is keeping the leaders – all but one of which are from Labor – in the dark.
“The alternative would have been to hang on to this bill until budget, and all of a sudden, we’d have had just a couple of weeks to deal with it before winter … We couldn’t win, either we rushed it now or we’re accused of rushing it later,” he told the ABC.
“We’re not asking the states to do any more for their citizens with disabilities than they’re already statutorily required to do. But I accept that different states have wound back some of their disability services apparatus. So we’ve got to work with them.”
The federal government has also invested $11.6m over two years to fund work to create and implement the foundational supports strategy, developed under the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth.
It’s understood the strategy will be considered by national cabinet in the second half of 2024, ahead of a phased approach to implementation.
The Greens senator Jordon SteeleJohn backed delays to passing the bill until an inquiry can be held into its implications for those accessing the scheme.
He added he would work with the disability community, which was frustrated about the political bickering over funding for the scheme and disability services outside the NDIS.
“We will not get good results for disabled people if a bunch of non-disabled ministers, federal or state, get together in a room and decide for us what is best for us,” Steele-John said.
“We need to have the principle of ‘nothing about us, without us’ genuinely at the heart of this.”
– Additional reporting by Andrew Messenger, Benita Kolovos and Amy Remeikis