Budget 2024: Labor Allocates $468 Million to Restore NDIS Efficiency
The government is implementing reforms to “moderate this additional growth” and “return the NDIS to its original intent,” as noted in the budget.
This funding includes $268.1 million to “better protect NDIS participants and prevent fraud,” and $200.6 million for “design and consultation” based on the key recommendations of the independent NDIS review.
Additionally, there will be a $45 million investment to establish an NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee, an independent body tasked with determining which therapies are reasonable within the scheme. To address concerns about providers taking advantage of the scheme and its participants, the government will allocate additional funds to revise NDIS pricing.
He compared this tactic, which he considered “shockingly widespread,” to the practice of imposing inflated prices on goods and services for weddings.
In April, it was reported that over 100 cases of alleged fraud in the NDIS had been brought to court following numerous tips.
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According to the federal budget documents released on May 14, government spending on the disability scheme increased by 21 percent in 2023-24 to $44.3 billion, $2.4 billion higher than previously forecasted.
Furthermore, NDIS payments to the scheme are expected to rise by $15.9 billion from 2024-25 to 2027-28. A plan to reform the scheme aims to reduce this increase to $14.4 billion over the next four years.
The government is undertaking reforms to manage the additional growth and restore the NDIS to its original purpose as outlined in the budget.
This announcement follows a recent financial sustainability report projecting that by 2030, the NDIS will cost $90 billion annually for 850,000 participants.
This amount is double the current government spending on defense and three times greater than the spending on Medicare and aged care.
The budget will also allocate $227.6 million to replace the current Disability Employment Services program with a new specialized disability employment program by July 1.
An additional $23.3 million will be used to establish a new Disability Employment Centre of Excellence to promote innovation and best practices.
Research conducted by the Melbourne-based think tank Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) indicates that NDIS recipients account for a significant 86 percent of the growth in the total number of Australians on welfare since 2018.
The NDIS was introduced by the Gillard Labor government in 2013 and fully operationalized by 2020.
AAP contributed to the information in this article.
