Disability Representative and Carers Organisation (DRCO) Forum summary – 19 February 2025

Key Themes and Insights

Current issues

Key themes: Scheme Reform and introduction of new planning framework.

• From 1 Jan 2025, impairment notices are being provided to all new participants.
• The NDIA is inviting an expression of interest from DRCOs to attend smaller group discussions to understand how diagnosis is being mapped and translated into impairment categories outlined in the NDIS Act.
• Support needs assessment tool procurement was opened earlier in February.
• The NDIA is preparing for the Agency's transition to the new planning framework from late 2025. Transition will occur over a 5-year period.

Key Insights:

• Members were interested in learning more about how the NDIA is making decisions about notices of impairments and sought assurance that notices will incorporate more than one impairment category. They highlighted the importance of sharing information about impairment notices ahead of contact with existing individual participants.
• Concerns the Agency is reassessing and changing participant plan management type without any discussion with the participant.
• Concerns there are issues with the participant portal and inability to track expenditure across all budgets.

NDIS Children and Young People Reform approach, led by Children’s Pathways

Key Themes:

• Work is currently in the early stages of a two-year design cycle for the development of the pathway, with the establishment of the Children’s Expert Advisory Group in July 2024.
• Key areas to address have been broken down into four components:
  • Strengthening access, especially for children with developmental delay.
  • Tailored approach to assessing children’s support needs.
  • Regulatory parameters to ensure quality of early intervention supports.
  • New ways of monitoring outcomes to ensure good outcomes.

Key Insights:

• Concerns that children with permanent disabilities who have entered the Scheme via early intervention pathways will have to go through eligibility reassessments to transition into the full scheme.
• Expressed the importance of hearing from diverse groups of children and their families, especially children and young people with intellectual disabilities.
• Concerns that preventive support won’t be provided for children with permanent disability until a functional impact has been identified.

NDIS Justice Panel discussion, led Specialised Service Delivery

Key Themes:

• The panel meets bimonthly and designed to examine policy and systemic issues across state and federal justice interfaces, using case studies to provide the NDIA with advice.
• The NDIA is exploring ways to include a panel member with lived experience, and opportunities for seasonal members to deliver expert advice.

Key Insights:

• The Agency needs to ensure there is First Nations representation on the panel.
• Concerned about amendments made to the NDIS legislation around justice and welcome the opportunity of continuing to work together.

4. Welcome and Update from the NDIS Minister, The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP

Key Themes:

• Continued commitment to put participants at the centre of the scheme throughout scheme sustainability reforms, while ensuring work outside the NDIS (Disability Royal Commission, National Disability Strategy) also progresses.
• Reflected the complexity of psychosocial supports and work being done in Department of Social Services with state and territory governments.

Key Insights:

• Concern that there isn’t enough urgency in the Government’s response to the Disability Royal Commission recommendations.
• Keen to understand how the Government is working to address the gaps identified in the unmet needs analysis to prevent supports (inside/outside the NDIS) from being fragmented.
• Concerned there isn’t much discussion with DRCOs about reforms to NDIS and state and territory systems interfaces, particularly on the design of foundational supports, navigation and joined-up systems.
• Concerns over the pace of reforms and ability to engage through genuine co-design.
   

DRCO 2025 workplan discussion, led by Jeff Smith CEO DANA

Key themes: The DRCO Secretariat sought feedback on DRCO membership eligibility criteria.

• DRCO secretariat discussed changes to the DRCO membership criteria.
• Establishment of two new evaluation working groups for section 10 and section 33.
• Revised the working groups plan purpose to capture diverse and intersectional experiences more holistically.

Key Insights:

• Need to establish who is assessing the selection criteria.
• Suggested to do informative mapping of current DRCOs to identify potential gaps in selection criteria.
• NDIA suggested a conversation about the change process to identify areas of focus.
• Concerns over the inconsistent rolling out of the updated national construction code.

DRCO Forum Terms of Reference discussion

Key themes:

• The DRCO Secretariat sought and incorporated feedback on DRCO Terms of Reference (TOR).
• NDIA updated the co-design principles to include how the joint secretariat operationalises the working groups and how they report back.
• NDIA updated the ways of working section to reflect the commitment to safety and inclusion.

Key Insights:

• Update the TOR to include:
  • reference to the role of carers while centring people with disability.
  • Co-design principles to include a feedback loop.
  • Co-design principles should apply to all engagement styles.

  • Update glossary definitions to include definition of ‘people with disability
     

    Actions from this meeting 

Attendees

A4 Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia, Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, Autistic Self Advocacy Network of Australia and New Zealand, Blind Citizens Australia, Brain Injury Australia, Carers Australia, Children and Young People with Disability Australia, Community Mental Health Australia, Deaf Australia, Deafblind Australia, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, Down Syndrome Australia, Every Australian Counts, Inclusion Australia, JFA Purple Orange, Mental Health Australia, National Ethnic Disability Alliance, National Mental Health Consumer and Carer Forum, People with Disability Australia, Physical Disability Australia, ReImagine Australia, Self Advocacy Resource Unit, Women with Disabilities Australia, Young People in Nursing Homes National Alliance

Apologies: Australian Autism Alliance, Deafness Forum Australia