NDIS Pathways Review Explained

Recently the National Disability Insurance Agency released the findings of its review of the NDIS Pathways system.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been beset with problems since its rollout in 2016. Anyone who pays the slightest attention to the news has no doubt seen the stories of some participants being unhappy with the system for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, the NDIS has sometimes failed to live up to the expectations of participants and providers alike and, although the premise behind the NDIS is sound, the implementation has been shaky for many involved in the Scheme.

However, somewhat surprisingly given we’re talking about a government agency, the NDIA has actually listened to the complaints of the participants and providers. Late last month they released a Pathways Review in which they addressed some of the major flaws in the way the Scheme has been implemented and outlined their planned changes to streamline processes and iron out some of the issues that have been fed back to the Agency. This is a refreshing and very welcome change.

The term NDIS Pathways refers to the way that participants, their families and their carers, and providers interact with the Scheme and the NDIA. A review of this process was announced in April 2017 and, after interviewing over 300 participants, providers and stakeholders, the NDIA has released the findings and outlined a much-needed update to the NDIS Pathways system.

NDIS Pathways for Participants

NDIS participants had a number of concerns, primarily:

• Phone meetings (as opposed to face-to-face)
• NDIS representatives have limited understanding of specific disabilities
• Inaccessible communications (such as the Portal only being in English, or letters sent to participants with vision impairments)
• Inconsistency
• Not feeling engaged in the process of developing their plans
• Lack of understanding from LACs and NDIA staff about their individual needs
• Having to retell their story multiple times to different staff members
• Not receiving appropriate information
• Not enough consideration of government and community support in their plans

Furthermore, it was determined that a one size fits all approach was not working, and instead, a number of different Pathways are being developed for: children under 6 years of age, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal participants, people from remote communities, people with complex needs, people with psychosocial disabilities, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Key Features of the New Participant Pathway

The new Participant Pathway will have focus on:

• Face-to-face engagement during the planning process, unless the participant chooses specifically to do this over the phone. The idea is that during the planning meeting the plan will be created and approved, which means that participants will no longer have to wait for approval of their plan.
• A consistent point of contact who will play a key role in empowering participants to achieve their identified outcomes.
• A stronger focus on a broader system of support, including improved interactions with other government services such as health, education and transport to promote greater inclusion and a sense of community for people with disabilities.
• Communication with an emphasis on the objectives of the NDIS, with a clear focus on outcomes and goals during planning sessions.
• Information that is clear, consistent and available in accessible formats, such as Easy English, Braille, and languages other than English.
• Make systems interactions as smooth as possible including a more user-friendly portal, and improved resources and tools.

NDIS Pathways for Providers

The Review didn’t just look at the issues of participants; it also evaluated and addressed the problems of providers, although many of the problems providers reported stemmed initially from the issues on the participant side.

NDIS providers reported that they wanted:

• More consistent information on policies and guidelines
• To be able to resolve issues more easily
• A reduction in the administrative burden of using the portal
• Greater ease in claiming payments
• A more straightforward registration process
• Help to connect with participants who may require their services
• To be notified when important changes occur

Key Features of the New Provider Pathway

The new provider Pathway will focus on:

• Clear policies with coherent and consistent information for providers, including a new website with up-to-date information and an area with frequently asked questions.
• Better payment process including an improved and more efficient administrative approach to bulk payment requests, clearer processes for resolving payment errors, and the ability to generate more useful business reporting from the portal.
• Reducing the administrative burden of using the provider portal by improving error messages and notifications, enabling call centre staff to see the provider portal, and creating a smoother transaction between participant and provider within the portal.
• Making registering as a provider easier by providing clear communication on the process of transition to the National Quality and Safeguards Commission as the new registrar for providers, and support to operating within the Scheme.
• Improving the Provider Finder which will be augmented with business intelligence, and creating an online marketplace for providers and participants to interact in.
• Notifying providers when significant changes are going to occur, giving them time to adapt and prepare.

The new NDIS Pathways are going to be trialled and tested over the coming months, before being rolled out across the country. During this trial period, the NDIA will continue to liaise with those involved in the Scheme to ensure all feedback is taken into consideration. What is and is not working will be looked at closely, and improvements will be made where necessary.

NDIS Pathway Review Could Represent Real Change

Despite the initial problems with the NDIS, with the NDIS Pathways review and update, real change could well occur. The solutions the NDIA have outlined have been suggested by participants, providers and other stakeholders and as such their implementation could significantly improve the NDIS experience for everyone involved. Of course, it’s the implementation itself that will be key here; the solutions are meaningless without the systems in place to enact them. However, this review really does give hope to participants who are using the Scheme that their situation will improve and they will be better off than ever before.