Participating in the community without NDIS funding
How easy is it for Australians with disability aged 18–64 years who are not receiving NDIS funding to find and use the services and support they need to participate in the community?
This project was designed to shed light on the key sources of support, information and advice available to these community members, and how the Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program is working.
This joint research project involved BSL, Baptcare and the Melbourne Disability Institute.
Our approach
We collected data in Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania through:
- a high-level desktop scan of the service landscape
- two online surveys – one for people with disability aged 18–64 years living in Victoria, Tasmania or South Australia who are not NDIS participants, and one for families and carers of people with disability with the same criteria
- focus groups with representatives from service providers, peak bodies, advocacy organisations and Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs)
We discuss the limitations of our method in our research reports. It is important to note that the data is not representative of all stakeholders in the landscape of services and support navigated by people with disability who are not NDIS participants. However, it offers valuable insights into financial, logistical and personal challenges faced by people with disability in their day-to-day lives.
Our findings
- There is a significant gap between the promoted availability and accessibility of support and services to people with disability who are not NDIS participants, and people’s experiences of attempting to find and use them.
- Being in or out of the NDIS has a considerable financial and personal impact on people with disability and their families. Support promised under ‘Tier 2’ in the original design of the NDIS has not been delivered.
- For the most part, the knowledge, experiences, needs and priorities of people with disability outside the NDIS, their families, carers and advocates, and those interacting with them in the community, are not being captured in government data informing disability policy and practice.
- Our research reveals complex, disconnected and incomplete markets of services and supports being navigated by people with disability and their families and carers; a service ecosystem riddled with inconsistent costs, eligibility criteria, information, priorities and availability of services; and unsustainable reliance on informal support networks and personal resources among people with disability without NDIS funding.
Reports
Olney, S, Mills, A & Fallon, L 2022, The Tier 2 tipping point: access to support for working-age Australians with disability without individual NDIS funding , Melbourne Disability Institute, University of Melbourne.
Olney, S, Mills, A & Fallon, L 2022, The Tier 2 tipping point: access to support for working-age Australians with disability without individual NDIS funding – executive summary , Melbourne Disability Institute, University of Melbourne.
Find out more at Access to support for working-age Australians with disability without NDIS funding
Project team
Dr Amber Mills and Liam Fallon, Brotherhood of St. Laurence
Dr Sue Olney, Melbourne Disability Institute
Contact Amber Mills