Q&A for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Information Sessions for Direct Support Workers
Channel: ACT Government
Date: 10/04/2014

The presentation that preceded this Q&A is available to watch here: http://youtu.be/Y1yhz-XnSFo

The NDIS is a new way of funding individualised support for people with disability that involves more choice and control. The NDIS aims to meet a participant's reasonable and necessary needs over the course of their lifetime. The ACT will be one of the NDIS trial sites from July 2014 and people will gradually phased into the scheme over 2 years.
 
Human service support workers are the face of the service system for the people with disability, their families and other unpaid carers.
 
As the ACT moves into the NDIS, direct support workers have a unique role and responsibility as a first point of information and guidance to the people they serve. Direct workers have the potential to set the scene for many people as they approach the changes, challenges and opportunities that the NDIS will bring.
 
Information sessions about the NDIS were held on 27 March 2014 and 1 April 2014 by the ACT disability sector Professional Learning and Development Network. The sessions were presented by Judith Davis Lee of the ACT National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and facilitated by Sarah King ACT NDIS Taskforce and provided information about the ACT launch of the NDIS trial.
 
The sessions included:
- what the NDIS is, where it has come from and the principles that underpin it
- the eligibility for the NDIS
- what is included in an NDIS package
- how the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) will operate in the ACT
 
More information about the NDIS is available at www.act.gov.au/ndis and www.ndis.gov.au or by phoning the NDIA on 1800 800 110. A Fact Sheet summarising the questions and answers from these sessions will be soon available at this link:
 
http://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/disability_act/national_disability_insurance_scheme/services-providers
 
Potential participants can visit www.ndis.gov.au/my-access-checker to use My Access Checker. This online tool can assist in deciding whether a person is eligible for assistance from the NDIS.