First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) calls for Minister Shorten and the Albanese Government to reject amendments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 proposed by the Liberal National Party (LNP)[1] that unduly institutionalise, criminalise and restrict choice, agency and control of people with disability, their carers, family members and children.
The proposed LNP amendment seeks to restrict the ability of NDIS participants or their plan nominees (parents, carers, family members of NDIS participants) from managing their own NDIS plans, or the plans of their children and family members, if they have ever been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for 2 years or more, or that involve fraud or dishonesty.
“In most jurisdictions all summary offenses are punishable by up to 2 years imprisonment, things like stealing a loaf of bread or getting a DUI 8 years ago could stop you from being able to determine and manage your own, or your family’s or child’s support needs. The potential wide sweeping impact on First Nations communities is devastating”, says Worimi man and FPDN CEO Damian Griffis.
Due to the historically disproportionate criminalisation of First Nations people and people with disability in Australia, the community holds grave concerns about the potential far-reaching impacts of the amendment. While data is limited due to poor government collection practices, it is estimated that up to 95 per cent of First Nations people appearing before courts charged with a criminal offence are disabled[2].
“The amendments proposed by the LNP are dangerously regressive, unduly punitive and actively seek out to strip people with disability and their families of their rights”, says Woppaburra woman and FPDN’s Head of Policy, Tahlia-Rose Vanissum.
FPDN joins calls from other advocates, including The National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls (The National Network), who have also expressed their deep concerns about the increasing institutionalisation of people with disability throughout the current NDIS reforms[3].
“Stripping criminalised people of their agency within the NDIS and forcing them to relinquish control over their own affairs and those of their families, is a severe regression to the oppressive control reminiscent of the mission manager era, where Aboriginal women were denied autonomy over their lives. This has got to stop,” said Debbie Kilroy, CEO of Sisters Inside in a Press Release earlier this week.
The amendment would also see small business owners, particularly those in regional and remote areas miss out due to their unregistered NDIS provider status. NDIS plans managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency (the Agency) are restricted to services delivered by registered NDIS providers.
“There could also be a significant impact on small and medium business owners who deliver supports as unregistered providers across the country – who is looking out for them? It’s clear that the LNP has given no consideration to the impact on their constituents or the everyday operation of the Scheme in communities prior to the introduction of this amendment”, said Tahlia-Rose Vanissum.
“In the last financial year, there were 16,000 registered providers compared to 154,000 unregistered providers, and people with criminal convictions are being told with this amendment that 9 out of 10 providers will be inaccessible to them. This is outrageous… This will become an even bigger issue for rural and remote communities, where choice and control are already severely limited. Restricting access to a broad range of providers will have devastating and potentially deadly consequences for Aboriginal people in these communities,” said MJ Whelan in the National Network’s Press Release.
Rumours that this amendment has support from the Australian Government follow an alarming pattern of recent reforms that have explicitly sort out to punish and institutionalise disproportionately criminalised peoples. This includes amendments to the Aged Care Act that will allow disabled persons to be placed into residential aged care facilities a younger age, the dismissal of Royal Commission recommendations to legislatively protect First Nations NDIS participants rights to cultural participation, and the potential removal of any respite supports that are not in state sanctioned institutional settings from the recently released draft NDIS transitional support lists.
“First Nations people with disability, particularly our women sit at the intersection of multiple discriminatory policies, laws and agendas. We are bearing the brunt of a number of sweeping changes that are being implemented at odds with the government’s commitments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Enough is enough, we will not sit idly by while our communities have our rights violated”, says Tahlia-Rose Vanissum.
FPDN calls upon the Albanese Government to:
- Reject the proposed amendments put forward by LNP in amendment sheet 2651
- Amend the legislation to include full implementation of the Disability Royal Commission Recommendations 9.6 (amending Section 127 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth) to ensure the National Disability Insurance Agency Board always includes at least one First Nations person) and 9.7 (amending Sections 3, 4 and 17A of the same Act to refer to participation in cultural life, in addition to participation in social and economic life).
FPDN Media Contact: Luke Briscoe 0407 773 259 or email: [email protected]
[1] 12 August 2024, National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Tack No. 1) Bill 2024, Amendment Sheet 2651
[2] 2016, Aboriginal Legal Service of WA, in Senate Community Affairs References Committee
[3] 15 August 2024, National Network Urges Minister for NDIS to Reject Discriminatory Amendment
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