South West among first to receive NDIS roll out

South West, Perth Hills and Kimberley are among the first areas to benefit from the roll out. The lower South West trial was a mix of how the WA government wanted its services to be delivered through the My Way scheme and the national one announced by the Gillard government.

Despite the popularity of the trial, the Mail previously reported that it left a funding gap in the mental health sector. As a result of the this, Busselton’s not-for-profit mental health organisation Lamp Inc faced an uncertain future.  South West MLC, Adele Farina recently welcomed the Productivity Commission Position Paper on the scheme’s costs, in particular the comments in relation to service gaps for people with mental health problems.

“The report confirms concerns I have raised previously that people with mental health problems but not eligible for the NDIS will be left without critical support services if governments withdraw block funding for supports and services currently delivered by not for profit organisations,” Ms Farina said.

“The Productivity Commission correctly states that there should not be a large difference between those inside the scheme receiving the lowest level of supports and those outside the scheme, this will not be possible if the state and federal governments cut block funding.”

Currently, disability services supports about 25,000 people with disability, with the state government expecting this number to nearly double as the scheme rolls out across the state.

However, Vasse MP Libby Mettam said the NDIS needed to remain locally focused.

“The regions and remote WA have the most to lose from the shift away from the more localised NDIS model and I believe it deserves to be supported. The prospect of withdrawing from the state scheme is largely unpopular in this region given the success of the state model, as illustrated in this lower South West trial site,” she said.