• The NDIS
• FAQ

The draft National Disability Insurance Scheme Rules Consultation Paper is now available. We will be calling on the MS community to provide feedback on this paper in the next couple of weeks.

Three fact sheets have also been published:

• Safeguards for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
• Early Intervention Within the National Disability Insurance Scheme
• Choice and Control Within the National Disability Insurance Scheme

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Thank you all for your contributions to the survey and forum for our response to the NDIS.

You can now access the submissions by:

• MS Australia
• The Neurological Alliance of Australia
• Motor Neuron Disease Australia
• Response to NDIS Rules Consultation

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In the last week of Parliament for the year, Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced the legislation setting up the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The NDIS is the biggest reform to the disability sector in generations, and will introduce lifetime care and support for people who meet the eligibility requirements.

This legislation will be voted on early next year. It will provide the legislative framework for a universal response for all Australians with a disability or those yet to be born or who acquire a disability. It will establish the NDIS, including a National Insurance Scheme Launch Transition Agency to operate the first stage of the scheme in the five locations around the nation:

• Barwon in Victoria
• The Hunter region in NSW
• All of the population in the ACT and
• Cohort groups in South Australia and Tasmania

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Participants in the launch sites will be the first to experience the provision of lifetime care and support to assist their self-management and independence.

The Bill has now been referred to a Senate Committee for further consideration of the legislative rules to be followed by public consultation on the Rules. It is expected that the consultation paper will be released for comment in the middle of December with responses due by mid February.

Here is some background reading that might help:

• The legislation establishing the NDIS
• The Prime Minister’s speech to Parliament introducing the legislation – read the speech or watch the video
• Intergovernmental Agreement for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Launch can be
  found at www.coag.gov.au

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Contact MS Australia or here are some useful links:

• NDIS Implementation - Latest Developments (Jan 2013)
• The architecture of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
• Access the Productivity Commission Inquiry Report: Disability Care and Support from July 2011
• Read more about the NDIS launch locations
• Read through the Regulation Impact Statement
• MP Jenny Macklin announced the Practical Design Fund to help guide the transition to a
  National Disability Insurance Scheme
• The Council of Australian Governments released a set of high-level principles for the National Disability Insurance Scheme
• National Disability and Carers Alliance website

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