NDIS Minister Bill Shorten addressed the release of the NDIS Review final report at an event in Canberra attended by Achieve Australia CEO Jo-Anne Hewitt and other senior staff.
Speaking at the National Press Club on 7 December 2023, Minister Shorten reaffirmed his government’s commitment to the NDIS and the work of the NDIS Review. The 329-page final NDIS Review report includes 26 recommendations that will take at least 5 years to fully implement.
Quoting from the report, Mr Shorten said the 26 recommendations and 139 associated actions must be considered as a whole.
“Together they provide a practical blueprint for a world-leading ecosystem that will put people with disability at the centre. For that to happen, it will need to be well-planned, well-governed, and designed and delivered in partnership with people with disability and their families,” Mr Shorten said.
Ms Hewitt said Achieve Australia welcomes this approach.
“Hearing Mr Shorten commit the government’s support for the recommendations made by the NDIS Review to return the Scheme to its original intent of supporting people with permanent and significant disability within a larger ecosystem of supports is aligned with what Achieve Australia has been advocating for,” she said.
“We have made our views known during discussions with Mr Shorten and others and in Achieve’s public submission to the NDIS Review, which I invite people to read on our website.”
“Achieve looks forward to working with the government, others in the sector, and people with disability to ensure the NDIS Mark 2 system is fairer, easier to navigate, and secure for the people who need it most,” Ms Hewitt said.
During his National Press Club address, Mr Shorten called out 7 of the recommendations made by the NDIS Review panel. The following areas are of particular relevance to the Achieve community:
The Commonwealth and States should collaborate on an ecosystem of “foundational supports” to benefit all people with disability, so the NDIS is ‘not the only lifeboat in the ocean’. Mr Shorten said this would be critical to the sustainability of the Scheme.
Co-chaired by Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM and Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM, the review panel heard directly from more than 10,000 people around Australia. The final report was presented to Australian Government Ministers on 28 November, 2023.
In addition to the National Press Club, Mr Shorten spoke about the final report and its recommendations at an event held by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) in Melbourne. The CEDA event was attended by disability advocates and service providers including Ms Hewitt.
View a video of Mr Shorten’s address at the National Press Club and or a full transcript of his speech. View a full transcript of Mr Shorten’s speech at CEDA.