Gert
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‘They keep denying people, just so they wear them down and they give up. And that’s what they want. Anything and everything is a fight for clients.’
Gert is in his late 40s and lives with a chronic kidney condition.
‘I’ve had mental health issues since a young child but nothing really specifically diagnosed or managed,’ he told the Royal Commission. ‘I live alone, I have my dog and minimal support.’
Prior to his recent kidney transplant, Gert was on dialysis treatment for a few years. ‘Basically, I got to the point where my kidneys were failing because of an immunity issue.’
During this time, he tried to access the NDIS.
‘I was not well enough, could function to a point, but … I would need the most services until the transplant.’
Within 24 hours, he was told he ‘didn’t qualify’ because he ‘functions too highly’.
‘I held down a few hours of work a week, I had the degree ... Basically, they weren't going to touch me.’
Gert straightaway asked for a review.
‘And I started jumping up and down at 12 months because I hadn't heard anything.’
Gert said he wasn’t asking for ‘a whole lot’. He needed some domestic help with cleaning and cooking and a support worker.
‘To take me out for a coffee, out to the beach, just so I could get out of the house … I'm highly involved in the church, but some days I couldn't get there.’
Again, the NDIA knocked him back. It doesn’t consider Gert’s kidney condition permanent and they ‘keep claiming it's a health issue’.
‘The condition I have is for life,’ he said, ‘and it's highly likely, whether in six months time or 15 years time, I will be back on dialysis.’
After two years ‘of backwards and forwards’, Gert turned to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) arguing that his physical health was impacting his mental health.
Gert’s counsellor and psychologist provided evidence that he was ‘isolated’ and needs support to get out in the community. The NDIA had an occupational therapist do a functional assessment at Gert’s home ahead of the hearing.
‘She just waffled on about … other supports he could get, which he can't,’ said Gert’s advocate. She also claimed that he’d ‘have time’ for house chores if he ‘didn't work, didn't socialise’.
Gert successfully argued the permanence of his condition with the NDIA before the appeal. But ‘within 30 seconds’ at the hearing the NDIS barrister overturned that.
‘He was just so obnoxious … It was horrific what I had to go through … Half the problem is I shouldn't have had to have gone to the AAT.’
‘And I found that just the whole process was unfair and unreasonable. They were holding all the power. It was deny, deny, deny. And their moral and ethical procedures were pretty in the grey area.’
Gert has had no supports for about seven years now. Many health services he once relied on were ‘cancelled when NDIS came in’.
Gert’s last hope is a basic home care package with aged care services.
‘Because I fall through the cracks so much. There's no-one else to support me.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.