Public hearing 25: The operation of the NDIS for First Nations people with disability in remote and very remote communities

This Public hearing was held from 11 to 15 July 2022 (Public hearing 25) at the Alice Springs Convention Centre, 93 Barrett Drive, Alice Springs.

This hearing was conducted by the Honourable Ronald Sackville AO QC (Chair), Ms Andrea Mason OAM and Mr Alastair McEwin AM. This hearing was be open to the public and was livestreamed on the homepage of our website.

Public hearing 25 will focused on the experiences of First Nations people with disability living in remote and very remote communities with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The Royal Commission heard from First Nations people with disability from remote and very remote communities about the barriers they face when seeking to access and fully participate in the NDIS. The Royal Commission examined whether those barriers cause, or contribute to, violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of First Nations people with disability.

Evidence was also heard from Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, peak bodies and the Australian Government.

Evidence was presented at this hearing about:

• the accessibility of the NDIS to First Nations people living in remote and very remote communities, including whether information about the NDIS is being communicated effectively to, and understood by, participants in the scheme

• the planning processes and funding decisions of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), including whether funding and pricing arrangements take proper account of local factors and possible solutions

• the limited availability of NDIS providers in remote and very remote communities and the experiences of First Nations people with disability who have to move away from their Country to receive NDIS services and supports

• the cultural competence and safety of staff working in the NDIA, Partners in the Community and NDIS providers, including the impacts of cultural incompetence, what standards of cultural competency training should apply, and how those standards should be assessed

• the role of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in the NDIS

• whether the NDIA’s policies and programs have been effective in addressing barriers faced by First Nations people living in remote and very remote communities to accessing NDIS services and supports

• whether (and how) the existence, or absence, of advocacy and self-advocacy impacts on the ability of First Nations NDIS participants in remote and very remote communities to navigate barriers to accessing NDIS services and supports.

This hearing will build on the Royal Commission’s previous Public hearing 8 and Public hearing 16 on First Nations people with disability.

Anyone who believes they have a direct and substantial interest in the subject matter of this hearing, as outlined in Practice Guideline 6, is able to make an application for leave to appear by 4:00pm on Friday, 1 July 2022.