National Disability Insurance Scheme

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (14:41): Supplementary question: what negative effects has the minister been advised will be the result of not continuing these services?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:42): One of the concerning elements of this is that we really don't know the magnitude of the problem. First of all, they are commonwealth programs, so we don't know exactly how many individuals are involved, but the impact can be quite diverse.

Let me give you an example of one service, and the Hon. Tammy Franks was with me at this same event. We were fortunate to be at a psychosocial rehabilitation service called Diamond House in the western suburbs. My understanding is that their funding is secure for the next 12 months, so I don't think they are one of the 25 services you directly referred to. However, they are the sort of service that might be affected in that they are in the psychosocial space.

What we are talking about is people who don't meet the NDIS criteria. My understanding is that most people in the mental health sector think that probably about 20 per cent of people with psychiatric disability might meet the NDIS criteria. However, in the other 80 per cent, you have a significant number of people who, if they are not provided appropriate support in a dynamic way—in other words, being able to scale up and scale down, depending on the person's circumstances—they may well risk becoming acute and, if you like, risk falling into that 20 per cent.

So we think it's very important for the state and the federal governments to work with the NGOs for this continuity of service. It's what all governments accepted was going to be a challenge of this. If you are having a change, you have got to expect a transition. I should make it clear: there are some people who are questioning whether or not psychiatric disability fits into the NDIS model, and that is a fair call. However, there is no doubt that some people with psychiatric disability experience the complete disconnection from the community and a lack of a capacity to be able to cope without support, and that's the sort of disability support the NDIS is meant to deliver.

My sense of the community is that they are still keen to give it a go. They appreciate that the transition will involve uncertainty and discomfort. But we are concerned that the commonwealth's overestimation of the take-up rate for the NDIS is risking significant harm in the sense of disruption and risk of escalation of health issues for people with mental health issues. We are keen that they identify the risks they are putting the customers at and changing their plans.