The Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Stuart Robert, has today released a discussion paper to inform development of a Digital Partnership Program (DPP) to make it easier for participants to connect and interact with providers.
The discussion paper will call for ideas around:
- what kinds of tools, apps, and other digital products would be attractive for development;
- how the NDIS can best work with providers and software developers;
- what specific functionality or Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) the market would like as part of the NDIS; and
- what terms, conditions and data registered providers, unregistered providers and software developers accessing APIs should variously agree to.
Minister Robert said the discussion paper builds on the Australian Government’s plan to deliver the NDIS, including through market innovation and improved technology, and encourages participants, providers and innovators to submit feedback.
‘We know the value of emerging technologies and the importance of leveraging innovation offered by the broader market to improve the experience and access to supports for all NDIS participants,’ Minister Robert said.
‘The DPP will enable the development of a new range of digital services at a faster pace under a digital marketplace model – it is an important step towards innovating the NDIS and improving how participants, providers and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) all connect and work together.
‘APIs will allow Digital Partners who subscribe to securely connect with NDIA systems and more efficiently manage their day to day work, increasing the capacity of NDIS providers and the market to deliver better services to NDIS participants.’
The first phase of the DPP will become available from Monday 2 March 2020, with the release of an initial suite of APIs for registered NDIS providers.
Consultation on the DPP is open until midnight AEDT, Sunday 22 March 2020. Find more information on the consultation paper.