The NDIS reform bill has been passed – will it get things ‘back on track’ for people with disability?

The government has passed a bill that will pave the way for sweeping reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). In late March many in the disability community were surprised when the government introduced a new piece of legislation to get the NDIS “back on track”. The route of the bill through parliament has not been easy and many in the disability community have been highly critical of it, even calling for the current reforms to be scrapped altogether .

On Wednesday, NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said agreement had been reached with states and territories about how they will work together regarding the scheme. The provision of “ foundational ” disability support and services outside the NDIS has been a sticking point. Why has this bill been so controversial? And now amended reforms have passed, what will happen next? A long and winding path When the legislation to reform the NDIS Act was tabled there had been no exposure draft released beforehand.

This meant there had not been public discussion and although some Disability Representative Organisations had been given details, they had been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent them talking about it. This was at odds with NDIS review recommendations that rules and changes should be co-designed with people with disability and adhere to the principle of “nothing about us, without us”. When the bill was introduced to parliament there were also two major processes – the NDIS review and the .