NDIS Funding Problems Continue – Christians for Community

Christians

I have seen many people struggle to obtain sufficient NDIS funding, as a wheelchair taxi driver I have many regular customers who must deal with the NDIS funding arrangements and so this story is nothing new for me to read. When the Labor Government introduced the NDIS funding program, I questioned the ongoing funding arrangements that were spoken of but were in my view very insufficient. The trial of the NDIS went all out to win over support with excessive funding for the selected persons for the trail period. It was clear to me these levels of funding would never be able to be sustained for any length of time. Once the full rollout was in place then we saw those who were unable to have a strong voice for themselves were to be short changed on the programs that were claimed to be available to them. One of the dogmas of the NDIS was that the purpose and target of the funding was to enable the person with disabilities to make decisions for themselves as to what they wanted to achieve for their lives; but in truth the coordinator and the social workers dominated the decision of what you will be able to achieve. Today the approval of fundings is directly related to the extent of the presure that can be placed upon a person to accept a program that the coordinators are capable of imposing upon the person with disabilities.

DISAPPOINTED: Alison Coate-Kibeiks, pictured with her daughter Olive, is disappointed her NDIS funding has been slashed, making it harder for her to return to work. Picture: Anthony Brady

A south-west Victorian teacher desperate to return to work is concerned she won’t be able to do so because her National Disability Insurance Scheme funding has been slashed.

Alison Coate-Kibeiks, 44, suffered an ischemic stroke four years ago.
Her partner recognised signs of a stroke when Ms Coate-Kibeiks woke and immediately called an ambulance.
Ms Coate-Kibeiks was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition.
She was in hospital for two weeks before being moved to a rehabilitation facility.
In the months after her stroke, Ms Coate-Kibeiks had very little mobility.
She was using a motorised wheelchair for a long period of time.
“At the start I needed a person on each side of me to support me upright on the side of a bed,” she said.
“I still have no movement or function in my left hand but I’m quite mobile over different surfaces.
“However, I use a stick and ankle brace.”
Ms Coate-Kibeiks has undergone occupational therapy, physiotherapy and exercise physiology to aid in her recovery.
In the first year after the stroke, her NDIS funding covered the cost of treatment, as well as four hours of community support per week.
However, Ms Coate-Kibeiks said her NDIS budget had been slashed and she no longer had access to the amount of therapy she needed to return to work.
She said she had inquired about extra funding to return to work but had so far been unsuccessful in obtaining any.
“Considering a major goal of mine is to return to work, I feel NDIS has let me down with funding because I can’t afford any more OT support,” she said.
Ms Coate-Kibeiks said she considered herself lucky because she was able to advocate for herself after her stroke.
“I was lucky that my brain injury didn’t affect me cognitively and I have been able to do a lot of work to apply for funding myself,” she said.
“I worry that people who don’t have the cognitive ability or anyone to advocate for them will be affected significantly. “I feel very capable of advocating for myself and I’m having such difficulty, so I worry about people who don’t have the ability to advocate for themselves.”