In our submission to the Independent Review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, AHPA focussed on 4 sector-wide issues impacting allied health professionals.
Firstly, we presented the NDIS’s lack of recognition of the value of allied health and the current general status of allied health professionals and services in the NDIS, with reference to assessment, access and planning issues, underutilisation of therapy supports, and the ongoing impacts of a dysfunctional NDIS culture.
We then identify other current obstacles to maximising the value of allied health to NDIS participants. These include unnecessary and onerous regulation, current approaches to pricing, and inadequate allied health data, including workforce data.
AHPA considers that some improvements are also required to the NDIS in general, with respect to how financial sustainability and participant outcome measurement are conceptualised and operationalised.
Finally, we address the persistent problem of internal and external siloes, within the NDIA, between the NDIA and the Commission, and with the broader support and health sectors, including aged care, primary care and veterans’ care.
You can read the report below