There are several problems with the recently released guidelines for diagnosing autism. But the fundamental issue is that we’re striving for diagnosis first, and help later.
The NDIS has the resources and mandate to develop a mature market that delivers suitable housing for people with high disability needs, including the more than 6,200 young people now in aged care.
The Productivity Commission has described the roll-out to the full scheme as “highly ambitious” and expresses concern it risks not being implemented as intended.
The fund is nothing more than a rebadging exercise in the hope people might think it is a new policy. And it’s being used to airbrush public hospitals out of the Medicare picture.
Health announcements in the federal budget include a slow lifting of the Medicare rebate freeze, money for new medicines, and an increase in the Medicare levy to fund the NDIS.
We know predators will continue to target the vulnerable, including children and people with disability. The NDIS will mitigate some of the issues in this space, but we need a royal commission too.
New rules offer the possibility of an inclusive Australian society that enables people with the highest disability-related support needs to have equal access to mainstream services including housing.
A new study has for first time placed a dollar value on how much it would cost the government to replace those who unofficially care for family members with mental illness.
Jesse Young, The University of Melbourne and Stuart Kinner, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
By excluding prisoners from the NDIS, the federal government is discriminating against prisoners with a disability in direct contravention of our international human rights obligations.
Shared ownership schemes can unlock access to suitable housing, although these are less common in Australia than overseas. And most are not specifically tailored for people with disability.
Health spent a lot of time in the spotlight in 2016. Medicare was a major issue in Australia’s federal election and numerous government reviews into health were announced and reported.
The roll out of the NDIS means disability service providers and the people they employ are exposed to more market forces and this could result in protection for workers.
Associate Professor, Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre and Occupational Therapy Department, School of Primary and Allied Healthcare, Monash University
Professor of Social Inclusion - UTS Business School - Centres for Business and Social innovation, and Business Intelligence and Data Analytics, University of Technology Sydney