Worry as satisfaction with NDIS plummets

THE satisfaction Tasmanian participants have with a key measure of the National Disability Insurance Scheme has fallen 30 percentage points in the past two years, new figures show.

The latest Council of Australian Governments’ quarterly performance report into the National Disability Insurance Agency’s operations in Tasmania showed 67 per cent of participants rated satisfaction with the agency’s planning process as good or very good.

This was an increase from those surveyed in the previous quarter but was less than the national average of 90 per cent.

Two years ago, 97 per cent of Tasmanian participants rated the measure as good or very good.

The surveys record the experiences of NDIS participants at different stages of their pathway through the system.

It comes after the Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS held hearings in Hobart recently.

Tasmanian Labor senator Carol Brown — also deputy chair of the committee — said satisfaction in the system had plummeted.

Labor spokesman for the NDIS Bill Shorten said he continued to hear horror stories about the scheme when he travelled around the country.

“In Tasmania there are widespread issues relating to disability transport and to the availability of NDIS-approved allied health professionals,’’ he said.

An NDIA spokesperson said NDIS participants were asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the planning process as either very good, good, neutral, poor, or very poor.

“The sample size of Tasmanians for this survey in the June 2019 quarter was 21 participants. Results are not reported where there are less than 20 respondents,’’ the spokesperson said.

“Due to the small sample size, statistical variations can occur between quarters.” The report said the NDIS in Tasmania continued to grow, with 875 additional participants with approved plans this quarter.

It said more than 6800 participants have been supported by the NDIS in the state, with about 40 per cent receiving support for the first time.

In its submission to the committee, the Hodgman Government said i t was a concern that satisfaction levels among Tasmanian NDIS participants was on the decline.