Ted

‘My Aged Care has financially become a nightmare … we feel we are totally discriminated against.’

Ted, mid-70s, contracted polio as a young boy and completed all his primary and secondary education in hospital. He has had a successful and varied career. He wore calipers until he had a relapse with post-polio syndrome in his 50s. He now uses a wheelchair and, until recently, continued to work and live independently.

Four years ago, Ted was hit by a bus. He was seriously injured and spent many months laying on his back in bed. He told the Royal Commission he lost the independence he had ‘fought so hard for throughout [his] life’. He now needs 24/7 care.

Ted sought compensation for his injuries and had to deal with a large insurance company. He said the insurance company’s interrogation tactics were ‘deplorable’ and ‘discriminatory’.

The company constantly accused Ted of lying and downplayed the value of his life. They told Ted he deserved a smaller payout because he had a shorter lifespan because of his disability. They also told him that because he was already in a wheelchair his life wouldn’t change much as a result of the accident. Ted cried through most of the ‘interrogation’ and left mediation meetings in tears. He couldn’t believe the way they were treating him.

Ted and the insurance company finally agreed to a settlement. His solicitors advised him not to accept the offer and to take the matter to court. ‘My mental health was at the lowest ebb and I just couldn’t go any further.’ He said the settlement monies were enough to cover a vehicle with a hoist and some items he needed to live comfortably at the time.

However, he’s since discovered it may not be enough for him to continue to live in his own home. People over 65 aren’t eligible for the NDIS. Ted says people with disability over the age of 65 are discriminated against by being ‘lumbered into’ My Aged Care with everyone else.

He says costs have skyrocketed since the rollout of the NDIS, directly impacting My Aged Care funding packages. Ted’s wheelchair prior to 2019 cost around $12,000. His most recent wheelchair cost more than $26,000. ‘That’s an enormous amount out of your package when you have the service providers charging anywhere between 33 and 42 per cent of your package.’ Ted’s shoes increased from $100 to $260 a pair in two years. The NDIS would fund these shoes, but My Aged Care does not cover the cost.

Ted says disability specialists are more difficult to find now as a large proportion of allied health professionals only operate as NDIS-funded services.

Ted feels pressured to move into full-time residential care because the costs are becoming ‘unmanageable’. His service providers charge him around $56 per hour, but only pay the support workers a maximum of $26 per hour. Night-time and weekend care can be up to $300 per hour. ‘Service providers have a culture that the money from a package belongs to them.’

Ted’s full-time carer receives a Centrelink Carer Payment. Ted said he’s ‘lucky’ because without this payment, he would be without a carer and couldn’t afford to live at home. One time his carer had to go to hospital at short notice. Ted did not have enough money in his My Aged Care package for another carer and had to rely on friends and family. Ted is worried he may soon have no choice but to go into a nursing home because his family live in a different city. He said he is ‘far from ready’ for that.

Ted said older people with disability live with ‘an enormous amount of emotional stress’ concerning their ongoing care.

‘Anybody over 65 with a disability, regardless of their disability, should be on the NDIS.’