Voiceover
Welcome to The Raw Nerve, the official podcast of MS Australia, a conversation space for all things multiple sclerosis. Join us for news and views on the latest research, treatments and advocacy efforts, as well as candid and informative interviews with our community, those living with MS, and their families and carers, together with leading clinicians, researchers, and advocates.
Jeremy Henderson
Hello, welcome to The Raw Nerve. I’m your host, Jeremy Henderson. Today we spotlight the recent release of the 2024-25 NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) Pricing Review.
Together with the broader sector, MS Australia is concerned by the decision to reduce pricing for essential therapies to boards, including physiotherapy, dietetics, podiatry, the decision to freeze prices for occupational therapy and speech pathology, and the decision to slash travel funding by 50%.
These reductions, along with no increases in pricing for level two and level three support coordination and plan management, will put further pressure on our Member Organisations who deliver essential, tailored, disease-specific services to people living with MS and other neurological conditions.
Our Member Organisations are already subsidising the delivery of services, providing many hours of unfunded support coordination and plan management and this latest pricing decision further threatens the viability of our Members and many other providers in the sector. And ultimately and most critically, the latest pricing decisions impact people living with disability who will no longer be able to access the vital services they require.
To discuss the NDIS Pricing Review, the sector’s concerns and the response to the changes, we’ve assembled a crack team, a wonderful panel of experts. Joining us in the studio today, Dr Rik Dawson, National President of the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Welcome, Rik.
Rik Dawson
Hi there everyone, thanks for inviting me to be part of this panel and talk about this issue.
Jeremy Henderson
Our second guest is Magriet Raxworthy, CEO, Dietitians Australia. Welcome, Magriet.
Magriet Raxworthy
Thank you so much for having me on this podcast today to talk about this really, really important issue.
Jeremy Henderson
And in the third chair, we have Melanie Kiely, Chief Executive Officer for MSWA, one of MS Australia’s four MS Member Organisations. Welcome Melanie.
Melanie Kiely
Thanks Jeremy, good to be here. As Magriet said, a very critical discussion to be had for the benefit of participants in the NDIS.
Jeremy Henderson
Thanks Melanie and rounding out our panel today we have Rohan Greenland, CEO of MS Australia. Welcome Rohan.
Rohan Greenland
Thank you. I wish this could be under happier circumstances, but this is a grave issue and one that needs a big airing.
Jeremy Henderson
Thanks, Rohan.
Now, there’s a lot to unpack here. I wonder if we could start by discussing the annual Pricing Review. What is it and what is it meant to achieve? Melanie, I wonder if I could throw to you on that one.
Melanie Kiely
Thanks Jeremy. Look, it’s a very valid process. It’s a process that is intended to review the prices in the Scheme. Just for people who don’t understand that we are capped in terms of what price we can charge. We can charge less, but we can’t charge more. That differs from aged care where it is a free market where providers can charge what they deem is appropriate.
So, given the cap, every year that cap is looked at by the NDIA in terms of market forces like inflation, salary costs, changes in various different things. And I suppose that’s all it should take into account. It seems to also take into account behaviours by providers and be used as a mechanism to try and discourage certain behaviours.
So that’s the purpose of it. I think it’s a valid one. And in the latest NDIS Review, they have recommended that that is done by an independent pricing authority, which we strongly support. And this is hopefully the last one that is done by the NDIA (National Disability Insurance Agency) themselves. And therefore, in future, we hope to see less of pricing being used as a tool to encourage or discourage providers from certain behaviours, but rather as a true reflection of the cost of providing services.
Jeremy Henderson
Thank you, Melanie and Magriet what were we expecting or hoping for ahead of the Review? What did we hope to see?
Magriet Raxworthy
Well, I think in any pricing review, what you hope to see is that there’s a genuine level of consultation and particularly consultation in relation to the care packages, the services that this will impact. And in this particular case, we were long calling for the NDIA to engage with Dietitians Australia and to have meaningful conversations about the complexity of care that dieticians provide, as do other allied health professionals for NDIS participants.
So, I think in essence, it came off the back of a six-year freeze of price limits. And that in itself had significant impact on the sector and particularly for allied health professionals and their practices to be able to provide an ongoing level of viable support to people with disability and also people living with MS.
Jeremy Henderson
Thank you, Magriet. Rik, in the introduction, I just went through a brief sort of summary of the pricing announcements, but I wonder if we could delve into that a little bit more deeply in terms of what actually has been announced.
Rik Dawson
So, what they’ve made a decision is after six years of price freezing, which is six years of all businesses having to absorb rising costs of living around rent, wages, they’ve reduced physiotherapy by $10 an hour and they’ve cut podiatry and dietitian by $5 an hour. They’ve also kept the same prices for OT (occupational therapy) and some other allied health professionals. But what it’s done is that they’re comparing apples with oranges.
They did a desktop audit of some other schemes that we have within Australia in Medicare and private health insurance and looked at pricing for those schemes, which we know are too low to start with, particularly when you look at Department of Veteran Affairs and their rebates. And they found that NDIS was considerably higher and that it’s not fair for Australians to pay increased services for people living with disability compared to other Australians, which just goes to show that the NDIA don’t understand the complexities of caring for people living with disability.
There’s so much extra time that we need to put into even just with the administration of this system, getting the therapy plans right and getting the right supports out to these people. And often we do unpaid admin, unpaid advocacy. And when you look at how many people we can see in a day in supporting people with disabilities, we’re looking at four to five people.
When we look at other schemes, physios in particular can see a lot of people in a day because of the type of conditions that we’re seeing. We can see a number of people in a clinic at a different time and get increased throughput. And I don’t want to talk about throughputs, but it just goes to show that the NDIA don’t appreciate the sort of support that we need to give to people living with disabilities. So, we now have a price cut, which means that a lot of businesses are really struggling to remain viable. And that’s putting people’s therapy at risk.
Melanie Kiely
And Rik, if I can wade in there, as a charitable provider of services to people with degenerative neurological conditions, is you know, Minister Butler himself said that they’re paying through the NDIA more than the average Australian or the average rate. These people are not average. These people require specialist targeted care to retain their functionality and independence for as long as they can, which was the purpose and…of the Scheme and for who it was designed for.
And underestimating that and not consulting and discussing that just begs belief. In WA, we’ve lost over $40 per hour on physiotherapy and we’re still competing with the mines for physiotherapists and the mining industry amongst other places. So, to take that, I suppose, compensation away for the state plus then reduce rates when we’re already making a loss and subsidising it. You know, it’s just, it does beg belief.
Rik Dawson
And that’s a really good point, Melanie, because the Government also cut travel rates by half. And so, if you’re a person living in a remote community, therapists are expected to drive and see these people on their own time and pay the costs, wear and tear on the car, petrol, insurance. There’s a lot of costs that go into this. And there’s been no consultation about…are there different ways that we can look at where travel sits within NDIA…at the moment a travel cost sits within therapy. And there’s a problem when somebody living in the centre of Sydney gets more money to play within their therapy compared to somebody that lives in a remote area. And now that’s been cut in half, it goes against the principles of NDIA or NDIS, which is about equity and access.
Melanie Kiely
And Rik, just to clarify, it’s not just that it’s been cut in half, it’s also it’s been capped at 30 minutes. So, it’s a double whammy. And so, take Sydney, for example, in the traffic, if somebody’s caught in the traffic, and it takes them 45 minutes to get to a client, that is a cost, a 15-minute cost that organisation, in a lot of cases, in our cases, a charity has to absorb and there is a limit to how much you can absorb eventually.
Magriet Raxworthy
Yeah, and I think just to complement what both of you are saying is essentially the NDIS, like any other health supplier in Australia, really has to look at equity of care. And that means we’re creating a level of inequity within Australia, people living in more rural and remote communities, not getting the same levels of care supports that they need to be able to live a life with choice and control which was exactly the reason why the NDIS was created in the first place.
So, the inequity of care is a deep matter of concern to us. Travel cuts certainly impacts that, but of course also not taking into account the level of complexity of needs that is prevalent within this group. We simply are creating a level of deeper inequity within the Australian healthcare system.
Then there’s the broader level of impact on the broader healthcare landscape. Today, if a person and tomorrow, should these cuts become effective tomorrow? It means that more and more people will be forced to seek a level of support and care from hospitals and other services where that mainstream service is not guaranteed and it may not be targeted towards what their needs are. And so that means essentially the NDIS is failing those that it was looking to serve in the first place.
Rohan Greenland
We all support the Government’s drive to have a sustainable NDIS. Absolutely critical. But we want to work with government, so they get it right. In this case, they’ve got it completely wrong.
The fact is, if you cut support, you cut access to services. And wearing another hat, I chair the Neurological Alliance Australia (NAA). And that represents more than 40 organisations working in the neurological space. And there’s seven million Australians with a neurological condition of one kind or another and many of them are on the NDIS. They have advanced and complex care needs.
And the fact is the NDIA in setting this pricing structure have not compared people with these incredibly complex needs with, or they’re trying to compare them with the rest of the population who might have a sprained ankle, for example. You just can’t do that. We want to help them get it right. In this case, they’ve got it wrong.
Melanie Kiely
Absolutely Rohan and if I can just add to Magriet’s and your point around equity, is it should be fair for everybody to get the care. If they cannot leave their home…because in many cases of people with MS or motor neurone disease, they either can’t leave or they’re in pain or they…they’re dealing with the heat and it’s 42 degrees outside.
And secondly, with occupational therapy, you need to go in and assess the home environment to enable them to have a plan that can help them function in their home environment. This is the whole point of ageing and not just ageing but also living in place and getting care in place. So, it’s not just physio, it’s even more things like OT and those kind of things where people need the support in their homes. So, we’re happy to work with the NDIA on how to make it sustainable, but this isn’t the way to do it.
Rik Dawson
I think if you’re not going to support therapists to get out and see people at their homes or their workplaces, they’re going to have to come and see you in your clinics. And often they need support. They need a carer with them to accompany them to these…to get them in and out of transport. It’s just going to be…not only are we not seeing them in the environment they need to be seen, there’s going to be no cost made anyway, because they’re going to have to spend other funding to get themselves and get support to get to a clinic. So, it’s actually counterproductive.
Magriet Raxworthy
Yes, that’s correct. I think those costs can actually be seen as potentially being higher than the costs that they would be allocating or the funds that they would be allocating to put proper travel pricing in place. I think this speaks for me again to the heart of what we are so deeply concerned about…is that this is moving us backwards. This is not moving us forwards.
We really do want to see, I think as allied health professionals, we want to see a vibrant NDIS that truly is operating at its best and certainly also is operating effectively and financially viably. I think it’s come as such a deep shock to the entire allied health professional network. And I speak for Rik here as my fellow allied health professional.
You know, we’re deeply shocked by the level of ignorance in this space. There was no consultation. There was no engagement. And yet, Dietitians Australia, as I’m sure the physiotherapists, as I’m sure podiatrists and others have always asked to be engaged.
We always wanted to just have a seat at the table to be able to say, let us help you. Let us help you reach that level of viability and sustainability. And that is lost with this sort of type of approach. I really do hope this is not how things will go in the future. And this is why that independent pricing authority is so absolutely pivotal to bringing a level of control in place but also doing things properly…engaging with community in an effective way.
Melanie Kiely
Yeah, and if I can support that, I mean, I think we’ve already seen straight after this, at 80, I think it was 81- or 89-million-dollar turnover provider in New South Wales shut down and literally didn’t merge, didn’t do anything, just literally a charity shut down.
Now, I think we’ve got a number of others who’ve been operating at a loss for a number of years. And if we see those organisations that are the ones that have been carrying the weight of extra fees…we make a loss in our operations every single year, millions of dollars of loss where we’re subsidising and supporting people before they get on the plan, where they don’t have enough in their plan, et cetera, et cetera.
And you don’t want to see organisations like that closing shop because they are the ones that the providers have lost resort for the people who really need it. And I don’t think that’s what the NDIS wants to achieve either or the NDIA. And I think…if you’ve got fraudulent providers, then let’s deal with the fraudulent providers. But a blunt instrument that it hasn’t been consulted with is not the way to do it.
Magriet Raxworthy
I think in our dietetic community there’s certainly a deep level of concern and you know dietitians are reporting really sort of this moral and ethical dilemma that they are now being forced to face and that is whether they provide ongoing services at a loss which they can’t physically absorb anymore.
They have been absorbing this over the last six years. They have been absorbing the costs, rising costs in running practices, and that’s no longer viable for them to do. So how do you step away from a community that you’ve been supporting? How do you step away from those participants and their family members, their caregivers, and say to them, I am sorry, I no longer can provide the service to you because those price limits doesn’t offer me the opportunity to be able to do so.
That’s a really terrible dilemma for a healthcare professional to face. We are obligated to provide the best services. We are obligated by our training to provide the best outcomes for people with disability or those living with MS. This is simply not good care. And it really is a question…a real moral and ethical question, we have to be able to face an answer.
Jeremy Henderson
Thanks, Magriet. But the reality of…if I can throw to you, Rik, but the reality is that these pricing announcements go unchallenged and unaddressed. What is the reality on the ground? Melanie spoke about service provider, you know, facing financial difficulties. The end result of this pricing announcement is…the reality is that service providers are going to be forced to close. Allied health professionals may have to consider moving from that sector because they simply…they can’t, they need to cover their costs. That’s the reality of this decision, isn’t it?
Rik Dawson
Before these cuts, we had 15 % of physios considering leaving NDIA because they were no longer sustainable. Now, we’re going to probably see a doubling of that. We’re having reports of businesses that were prepared to expand and develop. Definitely those plans have been shelved.
People servicing regional/remote are talking that they’re not going to take on any new clients because they’ve got a moral obligation to look after the clients they’ve got, the participants they have on their list, that they can’t afford to take on new participants.
So, you’re to see an increase in waiting lists, particularly in regional/remote and those states that have had those rural loadings slashed. And you will see there’s going to be this burden of people from the NDIS turning up in ED (emergency departments) and turning up in hospitals.
But unfortunately, when we talk to some state ministers, they don’t see that happening now, so nobody’s worried. So, it’s almost like we’re being held to ransom. “Are you going to actually start stopping seeing people?” We’re being told, wait six months. They’re almost putting…I don’t like using inflammatory language…like putting a gun to our head, but they’re saying…they’re putting us on the line and saying, “stop, you know, prove it, prove it that you’re going to stop seeing these people.”
But as we know that many allied health businesses are not operating with a profit margin. And it’s, when NDIA say we need to be more efficient, it’s no longer possible.
Magriet Raxworthy
Yeah, I want to add to that what Rik was saying. A survey amongst our Members working within the sector showed even prior to these pricing cuts, 25 % were considering leaving the sector. Our early results in and we’re doing a survey with our Members at the moment, is showing that that will double. So, it is a drainage of workforce.
That drainage of that workforce out of this sector means that people who absolutely need physiotherapy support, dietetic support and others, will simply not get it because those providers won’t be available for them anymore. And that’s a deep concern – when you have a workforce stepping away, not because they don’t care anymore, but simply because they cannot afford providing services within that sector anymore.
Rik Dawson
And I think there’s this perception that therapy is a cost, but we should…be seen as an investment. Therapy supports build function, prevent functional decline, prevent the need for more supports, and gets people out in the workforce, out into the community living great quality of lives. And when you look at the investment in NDIS, $1 spend provides 2 nearly $2.50 benefit to the community, benefit to the economy.
They’re taking away the sector, they’re damaging the sector that’s going to prevent functional decline and actually going to make the system more expensive.
Rohan Greenland
It makes a massive difference for people living with MS. You know, they have a whole range of complex needs. They need access to physiotherapists, they need access to dietitians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and these…access to these services, improves quality of life, improves sustainability of lifestyles, but keeping people in the workforce for longer. It can delay progression of disease symptoms. It’s really important economically to get access to these services as well as quality of life.
Jeremy Henderson
And Melanie, the same is true of all people living with neurological conditions as well, isn’t it?
Melanie Kiely
Yeah, it’s absolutely, it just, these were the people the Scheme was designed for, and I think the NDIS review did a very laudable piece of work. I think the bulk of their recommendations are outstanding and you can’t cherry pick each particular piece out of those recommendations. The recommendations were intended to be looked at relatively holistically.
And I think this flies in the face of that and I think it flies in the face of helping these people that the Scheme was designed to help. And I don’t know how much more…I mean, in WA we’re very grateful that we have an amazing population that supports our lotteries, that helps us fund the loss that we make. But even…eventually, you can only raise so much money to cover so much loss and even we would not be able to keep going at the rate we’re going.
We will continue to try and be efficient and there’s obviously ways we can do better but at some point, the people who are going to be hurt are the people who have got the condition.
Jeremy Henderson
Thank you, Melanie. We’ve talked about our concerns and our concerns are grave, but let’s talk solutions. Rik, what are we requesting and seeking from the Government, from the NDIA in terms of next steps? What do we need to see happen?
Rik Dawson
Well, we’re asking the Government to reverse the price cuts today before 1st of July. And we’re asking them to index rates to consumer price index, so services remain viable. We want the regional learning returned because we know of the access issues. We want the travel funding restored. But we importantly want a discussion with the NDIA. They gave no indication that this was on the cards. They gave us three weeks’ notice that businesses would have to adapt their services. And it’s unacceptable.
How would the hospital system cope with three weeks’ notice about reducing their prices? How would primary care deal with that lack of notice and lack of respect?
We feel very undervalued at the moment. And obviously, we need to promote our services, but when we talk to participants, they understand the value of allied health and therapy support. Clearly the Government doesn’t. So, they need to stop this now and begin a dialogue, a meaningful dialogue about reform that makes this system sustainable for the future.
Jeremy Henderson
And Rohan, we need to see genuine independence when it comes to pricing decisions?
Rohan Greenland
Well, the NDIS Review reported last year and one of its key recommendations was that the independent health and aged care pricing authority should be setting the price in an independent way from the NDIA. That hasn’t been acted upon. We haven’t even seen the Government’s response to the Review Report yet.
I completely agree with Rik. They need to stop the implementation of these cuts. They need to have a proper process for assessing price and make sure there’s the ability to have appropriate inputs and not just arbitrary decisions made from above. And I think the long-term solution is through the pricing authority, So, we have that independence and hopefully realistic outcomes that way.
Jeremy Henderson
Thanks Rohan. Rohan, last week we saw Anne Ruston, the NDIS spokeswoman, call for a three-month delay to the proposed pricing changes to allow consultation with the sector. How heartened are you to see a sign of opposition to the pricing review from the Opposition? And I think The Australian actually characterised that opposition as quite a significant intervention, that up to this point, the Opposition’s actually been sort of lockstep with the Government in terms of price cuts when it comes to the NDIS.
Rohan Greenland
Well, I applaud those comments from Anne Ruston. They’re very welcome. We’ll be seeking to talk to the Opposition. The Greens have already been outspoken about this matter already, but I want to hear from Labor’s backbench. I want to know that there’s, you know, the people who are really interested and concerned about welfare and disability issues are speaking up within the Labor Party to have this decision reversed.
Just last week in the UK, we saw a revolt by 150 Labor MPs against a move by the Government to reduce support for what’s called the PIP, the Personal Independence Payment. And that’s been remarkably successful in getting the Government to stop, rethink, and reassess the policies around cutting payments for PIP for new claimants.
And so, I think it’s actually a really important issue for all those on Labor’s backbench and in their relevant caucus committees to speak up and have some action taken before this has a really harmful impact on people who need, desperately need access to these services.
Melanie Kiely
I totally agree with you Rohan and I think, you know, having worked on both sides of the fence through my career, I understand how hard it would be to run an NDIA and to contain it from a cost perspective. I fully understand it and fully committed to working with the Agency on this.
Having said that though, I think when you get caught up in the politics and the, I don’t want to say bureaucracy in a negative way, but in the operations of trying to run a Scheme like that and the complexities of it, you can forget that these are individuals, that these are human beings. And with people with disability, it’s such a broad range of people with different conditions. And a blunt instrument takes a very statistical and very policy-driven approach and doesn’t take a personal approach.
And these are people, these are human beings the Scheme was designed to support and there’s human beings that these backbenchers should be thinking about. They vote in their constituencies and maybe they’ve just had a landslide election, but they have long memories and if we don’t help them to retain their independence, retain their dignity and get the best care that they can, then we’re not doing them a service or being true to what the Scheme was set up to do.
Magriet Raxworthy
That’s so well said, Melanie. I think just, I would like to add to that. And I think…it’s you know, this has been our call. Our call has been we asking the Government and the NDIA to listen. You know, this is, this is us all speaking up. We’re all standing together and we’re saying this is not good enough. This is going to lead to a disaster. Please listen now. Halt this change. And let’s engage in meaningful conversation as Rik was saying, this is what we wanted from the get-go.
Why do we need to go on the 1st of July? Why can’t we stop? Why can’t we consider all these concerns that this community in a broader level is raising? This is not one voice that’s speaking. This is multiple voices to the thousands of voices, to the tens of thousands of voices…that’s saying something is wrong here. So, all we want now is for the Government to really say, okay, let’s stop, let’s listen, because there’s genuine concerns here.
And we all representing people who are genuinely interested in the best outcomes for NDIS participants. And we’re genuinely interested in the NDIS operating in a viable way. So, let’s do this. Let’s engage in meaningful conversation. This is not a time to ignore people and wait for the disaster to happen. And then what? We have an inquiry. We have potential death on our hands. Is this what we’re waiting for? These are professionals.
We, you know, Rik and I represent a whole host of allied health professionals who are highly trained individuals and who are deeply, deeply concerned. I can tell you that dietitians are at a breaking point. They are not just emotional about their own businesses. They are genuinely concerned about people with disability, people living with MS, not getting the care that they need and not knowing where to go to get it. So those families are left more vulnerable, fending for themselves, having to individually, fiercely advocate for themselves. This is surely not what we intended to happen in the first place.
So, it’s a time to listen. It’s a time to bring these communities together. And Senator Ruston…in stepping up and saying, this is what we want. We want the three-month pause. Let’s engage. That’s, that’s encouraging. But we need to see so much more, and we need the Government to say the same. This is not a time to put blinkers on and hope for the best.
Jeremy Henderson
Thanks, Magriet. Rohan, MS Australia has a seat at the table at the NDIA’s Neurological Advisory Group. Is this an issue you’ll be taking to that group in the coming weeks?
Rohan Greenland
It certainly is. We have a meeting later this month and representatives from the NAA (Neurological Alliance Australia) will be there in spades presenting the case for exactly that.
The arguments that you’ve heard here today on the podcast will be again presented directly to the NDIA through the Neurological and Palliative Care Advisory Group. Those are important messages. We know the NDIA and I’ll give them a lot of credit for establishing this group and listening and putting a lot of weight on the views of the representatives who sit on that advisory working group.
So, we will be doing that. We’ll be taking the case directly to MPs and senators as well, including the back bench of the Labour Party. And we have established ‘The Price is NOT Right!’ campaign and we’ll be working closely with other organisations and patient groups and disability groups that are deeply concerned about these moves.
Rik Dawson
And just quickly, Jeremy, you know…the Government bought this in July 1, the Parliament doesn’t even go back to the end of the month. It’s like they’re trying to slip it under the door and hope nobody would notice, and they would get away with a small increase in efficiencies. And so, I think the industry, all us health professionals with our participants have stood up and said, no, this can’t proceed. We’ve written to Senator Jenny McAllister, we’ve written to the chair of the NDIA, Kurt Fearnley saying it has to stop. We have to have a discussion. It is not fair this timeline and it’s not fair at this point in the political cycle as well.
Jeremy Henderson
Thanks, Rik. Rik, I wonder if you could talk to me a little bit about the allied health sector and led by the Australian Physiotherapy Association and Dietitians Australia, have got a really successful change.org petition up and running at the moment and you’re attracting vast numbers of support. Obviously, this issue really, really speaks to the community that you represent.
Rik Dawson
Yeah, we’ve worked with all our peaks across the allied health to get this change.org. We’ve got over 60,000 people who’ve signed up to support. We’re asking them to go to our Australian Physiotherapy (Association) homepage where we’ve got resources, so they can reach out. So, clinicians and participants alike to across the political spectrum. We’ve had meetings with the Nationals, with the Greens, Independents, to talk about this issue from metro to regional and remote.
Because we really need to mobilise everybody and we need participants to talk up about their concerns as well. So, we obviously need to do more of that, and we will continue to drive that, but we are still waiting for the Government and the NDIA to make the right decision, to halt these cuts.
Jeremy Henderson
Thank you, Rik. Look, I’d like to draw this podcast to a close now, but I’d really like to give the last word to all of our guests. And I guess the question is sort of where to from here? Maybe if I can just start with you, Melanie, please.
Melanie Kiely
Look, where to from here? We just want to talk to you. We just want to stop, pause and relook at this and say how we can do this together. I think…I’ve spoken to a lot of providers out there, charitable providers who are looking at making radical changes now in response to this. That includes possibly stopping services. It includes moving to a centre-based model and no longer going to people’s houses. And I just think a blunt response to a blunt action is so sad, because all we want to do is protect the people that are out there and the people that the Scheme is designed for. As I said. Please stop, please let us talk to you, please let’s find a better way.
Jeremy Henderson
Thank you, Melanie. Rik?
Rik Dawson
We want a Senate review immediately. We need, and the NDIS needs a deep dive. It needs a code; it needs to look at how we’re doing things because we can’t continue with the way it is at the moment. And we need to remember that we’re…all therapy supports are working in the system because we care about people’s lives and giving them the best opportunity to live and work within our beautiful country.
So, we, again, just like what Melanie says, we want a dialogue, but we suspect the cuts, we want them to stop so that we’ve got time, but we suspect…the deep dive around how the NDIA is going to reshape how we deliver services sustainably short-term, medium and long-term.
Jeremy Henderson
Thank you, Rik. Magriet?
Magriet Raxworthy
I think there’s not much more I can add to what Melanie and Rik already said. I think other than saying this is a real call for the minister, Jenny McAllister. This is a time when she can use her ministerial powers. She can step in. She can direct that to the NDIA board, and she can intervene. This is a time for intervention.
So, it’s…we’re asking the government to really listen. And this is a time when she can listen and act. And she can do so pretty swiftly. She can do so today. So that’s for me a very pivotal piece. And the second part is let’s never, ever forget who are the people who sitting at the absolute heart of all of this. Those are the people we’re advocating for on a daily basis.
We’re advocating for their access to services, for their access to care. And I do not really want us to be in a position, and I do not want our healthcare professionals to be in a position where we step away from those individuals who they deeply, deeply care about. So, for me, it’s, we’ve got two ears and one mouth for a very good reason. And that is to really listen, and this is what I want our government to do.
Jeremy Henderson
Magriet. That’s almost the perfect place to leave this podcast, but I have to give the last word to my boss, Rohan Greenland, Rohan, a few words from you.
Rohan Greenland
Our message to government is clear. Stop, pause, rethink, engage. Engage with people living with a disability, including the 7 million Australians living with a neurological condition and the 33,335 people living with MS.
We want to work with you, and we want to get the right solutions to ensure the NDIS does what it’s designed to do and support people living with NDIS to live the best possible life.
Jeremy Henderson
Thank you, Rohan. Thank you to all of our guests today for joining us for this special episode to spotlight the NDIS Pricing Review, our grave concerns and our hoped-for outcomes. Rohan, Melanie, Rik and Magriet, it was great to have you on the podcast today. Thank you. For more information about the NDIS Pricing Review and the disability sector’s passionate vocal stance against it, you’ll find all the information in our show notes. Make sure you join us for the next episode of the Raw Nerve. Thank you.
Voiceover
Thanks for listening to The Raw Nerve, the official podcast of MS Australia. To hear more, subscribe to our podcast today at msaustralia.org.au/podcast.
