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National Disability Insurance Scheme – Transition to Full Scheme

Regulation Impact Statement – Department of Social Services

On 16 September 2015, the Government announced its commitment to deliver the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Agreements for the full scheme roll out of the NDIS have been reached with New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The NDIS will be available to all eligible residents in the Australian Capital Territory by July 2016, in New South Wales and South Australia by July 2018, and in Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory by July 2019. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) prepared and certified by the Department of Social Services has been assessed as compliant and consistent with best practice by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The RIS notes that the impacts of the NDIS on participants and providers are expected to be significant. By establishing common needs assessment and individualised planning processes, participants with similar needs will receive similar levels of support, and will be able to exercise greater choice and control over how agreed support is provided. Existing providers of disability supports will need to adapt from programmatic funding to a fee-for-service business model. Impacts on providers will differ depending on the nature of the services and support they provide. As the decision to introduce the NDIS was taken in 2012, the regulatory burden associated with the NDIS forms part of the existing regulation. The OBPR has agreed that the regulatory burden is zero.