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There are a series of games government likes to play when you disagree with them. This one is called 'drop another amendment to the legislation and say that it fixes everything.' News flash. It doesn't.  The newest Amendment, dropped yesterday, does not go far enough to address any of the problems that people with disability and our families have with the NDIS Amendment Bill.  My analysis is below.  I will add this. To drop this many amendments to a piece of legislation within a few days is extraordinary behaviour. Today they will try to coerce Disabled Persons Organisations to support this Bill with these amendments.  They must not. Experts have spoken loud and clear, and more importantly, so have people with disability and our families.  We must defeat this Bill at all costs. It is not safe for people with disability.  Strength and power to the arm of those fighting against these cuts - for that is what they are. And please watch carefully to see who is t...

Here's my take on the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee's report on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024. As always, this is my personal view, based on my significant years of experience in this area, and doesn't reflect any organisations I may be working for or contracted to.  Sadly, the report is deeply flawed and fails to address the serious concerns raised by the disability community. The report does not provide the rigorous analysis and critical recommendations required for legislation that will have such profound impacts on the lives of disabled people. Lack of Genuine Co-Design One of the most glaring shortcomings of the report is its failure to adequately address the lack of authentic co-design in the development of this bill. The Bill was created without proper collaboration with those it will impact most - the disability community.  Disabled People's  Organisations were asked to sign n...

 I had a rare and wonderful thought.  What if the three areas that are currently under review for legislative change were being harmonised, to the detriment of one or maybe more policy areas? Turns out that's the case. I've pulled out the changes in common for the NDIS, Aged Care and Veterans.  These are the similarities in the structural and legislative adjustments across the NDIS Amendment Bill, Aged Care Bill, and Veterans’ Entitlements Bill, focusing on compliance, monitoring, delegation of powers, civil penalties, needs assessments, flexible funding, regulatory powers, adverse action, information management, recoverable amounts, and registers of banning orders. Secrets are bad. If they are keeping them, you know something is amiss.  Can anyone say Robodebt? Or what about 'non-disclosure agreement?' The terrifying thing is - it's pretty apparent that not everyone in the Labor government understands what the fuck they are doing. Because these are not benign chang...

  Rights on Fire: Defending Against NDIS Cuts A submission to the Senate Committee - Bolshy Divas, June 2024 Contents 1.    Introduction 2.    Executive Summary 3.    Findings and Potential UNCRPD Breaches o     Finding 1: Definition of "NDIS Supports" o     Finding 2: Incorporation of APTOS Principles o     Finding 3: NDIA Powers under Section 32H o     Finding 4: Changes to Planning and Assessments o     Finding 5: NDIA Powers to Revoke Access o     Finding 6: Debt Recovery and Plan Management o     Finding 7: Key Details Left to NDIS Rules o     Finding 8: Lack of Oversight Measures o     Finding 9: Risk of Segregated Settings o     Finding 10: Exposure Draft Amendments o     Finding 11: Limited Appeal Rights     Introduction The prop...