Economic development opportunities for Indigenous Australians & the National Disability Insurance Scheme
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet engaged Inside Policy to facilitate and report on a workshop on economic development opportunities within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for Indigenous Australians. This workshop was initiated and hosted by the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council.
The workshop was held at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern on 10 August 2017 and was attended by over 30 representatives from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, Indigenous peak bodies and service delivery organisations, Indigenous disability advocates, microfinance, government, disability provider peaks and the National Disability Insurance Agency.
This document has been prepared by Inside Policy Pty Ltd on behalf of the the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council and the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet (the Department) to report on the outcomes of a workshop held on 11 August 2017 to discuss the economic development opportunities for Indigenous Australians under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
This report is confidential and has been prepared for the sole use of the Department. The contents of this report does not constitute Departmental policy.
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The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet engaged Inside Policy to facilitate and report on a workshop on economic development opportunities within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for Indigenous Australians. This workshop was initiated and hosted by the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council.
The workshop was held at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern on 10 August 2017 and was attended by over 30 representatives from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, Indigenous peak bodies and service delivery organisations, Indigenous disability advocates, microfinance, government, disability provider peaks and the National Disability Insurance Agency.
The overarching objective of the workshop was to build a “call to action” amongst representatives in the room to do their part in seizing the opportunities that exist within the NDIS for Indigenous Australians.
This report outlines the feedback to emerge from the workshop.
The overarching sentiment from the workshop can be summarised as “Nothing about us without us. Done with us not for us.” Workshop participants strongly conveyed the importance of the NDIS being rolled out with rather than for Indigenous communities.
The remainder of this report summarises the feedback provided on the following discussion items:
- The current challenges within the NDIS.
- The opportunities that exist.
- On-country models for delivering the NDIS.
- Participation and advocacy.
- Financial viability.
No. |
Discussion Topic |
Description |
---|---|---|
1. |
Welcome |
Welcome to Country and opening remarks by IAC Co-Chair Andrea Mason. |
2. |
Setting the scene |
Presentations on:
|
3. |
Strategies for economic development |
Strategies to secure maximum opportunities for economic development, eg training, workforce and job creation, entrepreneurial and business development, particularly in remote areas. Opportunities to leverage off existing government programmes and resources such as providing training and employment through CDP providers. |
4. |
Financial viability |
Cash flow modelling to ensure viability. |
5. |
On-country models |
Options for a culturally appropriate, place-based on-country models that allows for a different conception of disability. |
6. |
Strengthening supports to participate in the NDIS |
Support, including advocacy, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to fully participate in the NDIS (including as providers) and access appropriate services, including in regional and remote areas. |
7. |
Close |
Closing remarks by IAG Co-Chair Andrea Mason. |
Challenges facing participants:
- Limited opportunity to review plans (every six months).
- Many service types in remote locations don’t fit within the current definitions of reasonable and necessary.
- Lack of knowledge of NDIS and how it works.
- Building family and community (collective love & support) into plans.
- Lack of choice regarding therapeutic services.
Challenges facing providers:
- Financial risk: 1 in 5 fail, 6 months of cash reserves required, no guarantee on return.
- Pricing & funding doesn’t make sense: no weighting on Aboriginality, no seed funding for orgs to get started.
- Different business models are required: running a health service is not the same as running a business.
Challenges facing communities:
- Lack of community control and building off existing base: feels like the NDIS is being done to us.
- The adaptability of the NDIA to different communities & locations.
- Time pressure to get the scheme rolled-out.
- Lack of flexibility in how the scheme is rolled-out in different locations.
Challenges facing the NDIS:
- The NDIA, with the Indigenous community, should examine how key principles of the scheme such as “flexibility”, “reasonable” and “necessary” are defined and applied with the aim of effectively supporting Indigenous participants.
- Choice through the lens of a competitive market is not viable in remote locations as a multiplicity of services don’t exist.
- How does research and development inform policy?
The group also raised a number of structural challenges facing the NDIS. In particular, how the various systems intersect (i.e. Medicare, income support and NDIS) must be examined to ensure Indigenous participants are able to access all of the support they require including the basic necessities of life (food, clothing, shelter).
|
Participants |
---|---|
Opportunities: |
|
Strategies to maximise: |
|
|
Providers |
---|---|
Opportunities: |
|
Strategies to maximise: |
|
|
NDIA & the System |
---|---|
Opportunities: |
|
Strategies to maximise: |
|
Advocacy & Participation
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ must have a voice in the roll out of the NDIS and the development of policy affecting people with a disability. At a minimum this should occur by way of:
- An Indigenous steering group which directly advises the NDIA on the roll out of the NDIS.
- An Indigenous group that directly advises on disability policy reform.
Financial Viability
- Seed funding is required to assist Indigenous people start-up businesses to support Indigenous participants.
- Pricing for service types must reflect the cost of doing business and providing services in remote and very remote locations including travel and relationship building.
On-Country Models
Key elements of on-country models include:
- Segmenting locations by urban, remote and very remote.
- Leveraging the existing Indigenous service system infrastructure including Aboriginal Medical Services, their workforces and systems.
- Building the local Indigenous workforce to design and deliver services under the scheme.
- Access to market intelligence about current and future demand in communities.
- Working with local organisations to develop back end administrative support and physical workspaces for small businesses and sole traders.
- Information and assistance to help participants pool funds for block purchasing.
- In remote locations with sole providers choice will be a function of how a service is delivered rather than which agency delivers it.
- Assist Indigenous practitioners and entrepreneurs to register as a provider.
Organisation |
Name |
Position |
---|---|---|
IAC |
Andrea Mason
|
Co-Chair |
First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN)
|
Ms Gayle Rankine |
Chair |
First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) |
Mr Damian Griffis |
CEO |
First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) |
Mr Paul Calcott
|
National Operations Manager |
First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) |
Mr Scott Avery
|
Policy and Research Director |
National Disability Services (NDS) |
Mr Ken Baker |
Chief Executive |
Indigenous Business Australia |
Mr Wally Tallis |
Acting CEO |
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) |
Ms Stephanie Gunn |
Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Participants & Planning |
Supply Nation |
Ms Laura Berry |
CEO |
Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation |
Ms Eddie Mulholland |
CEO |
The Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA)/Island & Cape (Qld) |
Mr Liam Flanagan |
General Manager, Community Services division |
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples |
Ms Jackie Huggins |
Co-Chair |
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples |
Mr Gary Oliver |
|
Organisation |
Name |
Position |
New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) |
Mr James Christian |
CEO |
Indigenous Allied Health Australia |
Mr Allan Groth |
|
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Association (NATSIHWA) |
Mr Karl Briscoe |
CEO |
Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) |
Mr Ben Gorrie |
CATSINaM Board Member |
Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH) |
Mr Rob Curry |
President |
ServeGate |
Mr Leigh Coleman |
CEO |
Many Rivers Micro Finance |
Mr John Burn |
CEO |
VAEI (Victoria)
|
Mr Lionel Bamblett |
|
Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP) |
Ms Natalie Lewis |
CEO |
Children First |
Mr Dylan Reynolds |
Executive Manager |
Nous Group |
Ms Gill Shaw |
Director |
Northcott |
Mr Matt Old |
Regional Manager |
Synapse |
Dr Clare Townsend |
National Manager of Research and Development |
Organisation |
Name |
Position |
NPY Women’s Council |
Ms Kim McRae |
NPYWC Tjungu Team Manager & My Aged Care Team Leader |
NPY Women’s Council |
Lavenia Saville |
Finance Manager |
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) |
Pat Turner, CEO |
CEO |
Department of Health |
Kate Thomann |
Assistant Secretary Strategy & Evidence Branch Indigenous Health Division
|
Department of Employment |
Brad Knight |
Director: Indigenous, CALD and Financial Modelling Section |
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |
Kathleen O’Ryan |
Senior Advisor, IAC Secretariat |
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |
Peter Arnaudo
|
AS, Health Branch |
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |
Christian Hall |
Senior Advisor, Health Branch |
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |
Clare Sharp |
AS, Business and Economic Policy |
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
|
Rachel Kerrigan |
Acting AS, CDP Branch |
Department of Social Services |
John Riley |
AS, Market Oversight Branch |