The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme and People With Disabilities From CALD Backgrounds

Abstract

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is considered to be the second greatest reform in healthcare in Australia after the introduction of Medicare in Australia in 1983. This reform was introduced in 2012 in two phases. The first phase as a trial took place for three years. The expectation was that the reform will be rolled out by 2019 or 2020. This article argues that the trial implementation process has achieved very positive outcomes in the lives of a great number of people with disability in Australia. At the same time, NDIS is facing many serious challenges in some areas. One of the obvious challenges is that this reform is a market approached reform. The second challenge relates to meeting the needs of minorities. People with disabilities from Culturally and Linguistically Divers (CALD) backgrounds are one of the five most venerable, underutilised users of NDIS services in Australia. They have no strong voice and negotiable abilities. The main question here is how NDIS is to meet its commitment to satisfy the needs of these vulnerable people in Australia.