Supported Independent Living Commissioning Approach

MS Australia submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing on the commissioning of Supported Independent Living (SIL)supports improving the quality, safety and sustainability of SIL, but argues commissioning should be targeted where existing arrangements are failing. The submission calls for rights-based, participant-centred commissioning that values meaningful outcomes, specialist expertise, proactive safeguards, workforce capability, provider sustainability and genuine choice and control. It emphasises the needs of people with MS and other progressive neurological conditions, including maintaining function, preventing decline and supporting long-term independence.

MS Australia’s submission to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing on the Inclusive Communities Fund highlights the need for the Fund to support genuine, safe and lasting community participation for people with MS and other complex disabilities. Drawing on lived experience from MS Australia’s LEEP and Member Organisations, the submission recommends funding inclusive activities, accessibility improvements, transport and practical supports. It also calls for paid co-design, strong partnerships and clear accountability so people with fluctuating, progressive or invisible disabilities are not left behind.

MS Australia’s submission to the Australian Sports Commission and the University of Queensland draws on lived experience from the LEEP and broader MS community to highlight the barriers people with MS face in sport, including fatigue, heat sensitivity, cost, accessibility issues, and limited understanding of invisible and fluctuating symptoms. To make disability sport in Australia more inclusive, the submission calls for sport systems, programs, and organisations to be flexible, accessible, affordable, and informed by the lived experience of people with disability.

MS Australia’s submission to the Support at Home Program inquiry outlines that the program does not adequately meet the needs of older people living with disability, including people with MS. It highlights insufficient funding, lack of disability-specific supports, high co-contributions, complex hardship processes, pricing inconsistencies, thin markets, and transition challenges. MS Australia recommends reforms to improve equity with the NDIS, increase funding flexibility, strengthen hardship assistance, support carers, address regional service gaps, and ensure older Australians can remain independent at home.