Blind fear flaws in NDIS

MORE than 240,000 Australians who have vision impairment fear they won’t qualify for the flagship National Disability Insurance Scheme because they are too old and their disability is not considered serious enough.

Guide Dogs Association says these people need a guide dog or mobility training to help them regain their independence, maintain a job, attend study and care for themselves.

They will today present a petition with 20,000 signatures calling for the scheme to cover the services to Disability Reform Minister Jenny M a c k l i n on I n t e r - national White Cane Day.

Guide Dogs Association NSW/ACT chief Dr Graeme White says his organisation spends $20 million a year providing almost 4000 mobility services, with all money coming from charity and not government.

There are waiting lists of up to 12 months for a guide dog and Dr White estimates about 100,000 Australians with a vision problem need training to learn to get around, but they can’t get it.

‘‘We’re worried there is not going to be equitable or fair allocation to vision impairment in the NDIS,’’ he says.

The reason is that there is a proposal to cut off eligibility for the scheme at age 65 and reserve the scheme for people with a severe or profound disability.

‘ ‘ Between 50 and 75 per cent of the people we work with are aged over 65 and another large proportion wouldn’t classify as having a severe or profound disability,’’ he said.

Ms Macklin said the Government had been seeking feedback from disability groups about who should be covered by the scheme and how their support packages should be determined, with talks under way.