WA In NDIS – Whole of Australia Covered
Now Keep it Sustainable and Consumer Controlled
People with Disability Australia (PWDA) has welcomed the announcement by Prime Minister Rudd that Western Australia will
sign up to DisabilityCare.
We understand that DisabilityCare and WA’s individualised support pilot called My Way are to be trialled side by side in
different jurisdictions.
PWDA President Craig Wallace said “While details are still emerging this is a good day for Western Australians with
disability and for Australia as a whole. The Scheme will now have a national footprint with Australia’s largest State
now being covered. Every State and Territory in Australia is now in the Scheme.
“This is a real breakthrough as WA had previously indicated they wouldn’t sign up prior to the election. Western
Australians can now be confident of a sustainable funding pipeline for good disability supports as the resources boom
slows. I congratulate both Prime Minister Rudd and Premier Barnett.
“We need the best knowledge, the best evidence, the best models. People in all the launch sites will benefit from the
experience that WA brings to the table and this should provide some interesting evidence about related approaches to
individualised funding.
“This is a good moment to discuss the future of the Scheme and sustainability and I am today releasing PWDA’s election
policy on DisabilityCare”.
The key planks of the policy are:
Funding for DisabilityCare is secured and guaranteed in perpetuity Fully implement the National Disability Strategy
(NDS) The paradigm shift to person centred approaches must remain at the forefront across all processes of
DisabilityCare Establishment of an independent consumer complaints and resolution mechanism with enforcement powers
Independent information and advocacy services for people with disability must be adequately funded
ENDS