National Disability Insurance Scheme community program struggles to provide support after COVID, rising cost of living

The report prepared by Per Capita for National Disability Services focuses on the under resourced second tier of the social security scheme, designed to support people with a disability who are not eligible for individual support.

The so-called tier 2 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme was intended to provide a community-based support system, through mainstream services delivered by state and territory governments, community groups, organisations, not-for-profits and local government.

These services can range from occupational therapy to transport, information exchange or social activities.

But a lack of funding has led to an overdependence on donations and volunteering, leaving services in a precarious state in the aftermath of COVID restrictions and rising costs of living.

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Elizabeth Hickey, a Canberra-based independent support coordinator, assists people to navigate the NDIS system.

She has watched community support services deteriorate in the ACT as tier 2 funding has dwindled.

"That support is no longer there unless you've got an NDIS plan or pretty much a bottomless bucket of money," she said. "Because support services and services are really stretched."

The costs of accessing tier 2 services out of pocket often form barriers, she said.

"It's $193 to access an hour to access speech therapists or an occupational therapist, and if you don't have an NDIS plan, taking that out of your pocket is really hard," Ms Hickey said.

"And that service used to be funded by the government, so that's your tier two service."

Investment in tier 2 services constitutes less than one per cent of the overall program funding, the report states, so even a small increase in funding would have significant benefits.

The disability sector is increasingly reliant on volunteers in place of paid employees and staff volunteering is often replacing ongoing, paid employees who are trained to achieve the best outcomes.

Donations have also declined, according to the most recent data from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

The report makes eight recommendations, which focus on increased funding and consistency of funding for services and volunteers.

"People are missing out," Ms Hickey said of the current patchwork supports available in the community.

"There are a lot of people who potentially could be getting funding through the NDIS but need to access some of the some of the tier 2 services, or some of the services that they're not necessarily able to access now, to get the diagnosis."

The National Disability Services report notes that without adequate investment into the community services tier of the NDIS, the whole scheme risks being destabilised.

"Like a three-legged stool, the removal or weakening of any one of these tiers would fundamentally destabilase the entire NDIS," Ms Hickey said.

Furthermore, a lack of support at the community level can place greater strain on demand for individualised packages under the NDIS.

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