SpeakOut_Oct2015_FINAL_lo res

NDIS UPDATE

Super Speech Pathologist raises some NDIS FAQs

Super Speechie has heard about the NDIS on the TV and radio, and she knows that it is having a big impact on service delivery for children and adults with disabilities, but what will it really mean for her practice? The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) commenced roll-out in trial sites around Australia in July 2013. More than 13,000 individual participants have been provided with funding since that time, and it is anticipated that when the scheme is fully rolled out in July 2019, more than 400,000 people will be accessing supports through the NDIS. There are now trial sites running in every state and territory except Queensland, for either age or geographically defined groups. The NDIS continues to develop and modify its operations based on learning from the trial sites. As an insurance model, the NDIS has a focus on provision of early intervention (with the aim of reducing the amount of funded support required for individuals across their lifetimes). Another important feature is that funding goes directly to individuals, rather than block grant funding to providers. People with disabilities have access to more funding than was previously available, and participants are now able to exercise choice and control over how and with whom they spend their funds. Many people who were not previously able to access disability supports are now able to do so; the July 2015 quarterly report on the NDIS indicates that 41% of those who have been provided with plans have not previously accessed funded support. The traditional clients for Super Speechie’s practice have mostly been children with speech and language difficulties, as well as some children with Helping Children with Autism (HCWA) or Better Start funding, but she is keen to expand her client base. Should she register as a provider with the NDIS? As the scheme has rolled out, children who were receiving or would have been eligible for HCWA and Better Start

funding have been transitioned to NDIS funding, and it can be anticipated that these funding sources won’t continue following full scheme roll-out. There has been a growth in demand for speech pathology in all sites, and in South Australia, new and existent providers of disability focused allied health services have been significantly impacted. Many participants are choosing to access their services from single discipline private allied health providers, and create their own allied health team, rather than accessing their supports from a single provider organisation. The NDIS is also providing access to early intervention supports (funding) for children who may not have traditionally received services through the disability sector, including children whose only or primary impairment is within what the NDIS describes as ‘expressive and receptive language’. Providers are required to be registered with the NDIS to provide supports to participants who choose to have their NDIS plan (funds) managed through the NDIS. Participants who are managing their own funds are able to access their supports from anyone, and the process works in much the same way as for Super Speechie’s previous clients who were self funding. Currently the majority of participants (95%) are having some or all of their supports managed through the NDIS. The NDIS Quality and Safeguarding framework is in development, but it isn’t yet clear what future regulations will apply around service provision. Although the process of registering is a little demanding, for the foreseeable future, registered providers will benefit by having access to a much larger group of potential participants. Super Speechie decides to investigate becoming a registered provider with the NDIS. The area she services isn’t in a trial site yet, but she wants to be prepared. When can she register, and what is involved?

(NB: The SPA ‘Registering to be a NDIS Provider’ document, on the Resources webpage of the Information for Members tab, provides a step-by-step guide, including relevant links and more.) You can register to be an NDIS provider at any time that you wish to provide supports within a trial site. To date, the NDIS has opened up registration a few months before the launch of a site, and generally only to registered providers who had a service site geographically in a specific trial site. Some members who use telepractice have recently been successful in being registered as a provider in more than one trial site i.e., for trial sites other than those in which their business is physically located. Information and guidelines about registering as a provider are available on the NDIS website. The application can be completed and submitted electronically. As well as providing information about her business structure, Super Speechie also has to provide information about her suitability to provide specific supports, using the guide available. It took a while to complete, and then a while before the registration was official; Super Speechie got to know the phone number for provider support pretty well, but finally she was all ready to go. So, then what? How will participants find her? Will the NDIS planner be recommending her to participants? The NDIS doesn’t provide recommendation for specific providers to participants; this would be contrary to their important principle of offering choice and control. Participants can use the ‘Find Registered Providers’ page on the NDIS website, which lists providers under the support clusters they offer, and provides contact details and a web address. Some of the ‘supports’ offered, such as support coordination, may include identifying and organising other providers. In other cases, participants ask for suggestions from colleagues in other allied health professions as well

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Speak Out October 2015

Speech Pathology Australia