NDIS quality commission bill sent to Senate committee
Disability sector stakeholders have until 28 July to make a submission to a Senate inquiry examining the government’s proposed legislation to establish a new quality and safety commission to oversee the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Disability sector stakeholders have until 28 July to make a submission to a Senate inquiry examining the government’s proposed legislation to establish a new quality and safety commission to oversee the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The government’s bill, which was introduced into Parliament on 31 May, seeks to create a new statutory authority with national responsibility for implementing the scheme’s Quality and Safeguarding Framework.
In this year’s budget, the Federal Government allocated $209 million over four years to operate the new body, which would replace existing state-based regulatory schemes as the NDIS becomes fully operational by 2020.
The Senate referred the government’s bill to a Senate committee inquiry on 15 June and the committee is due to report on 5 September.
Under the proposed government legislation, the new authority would be given wide-ranging responsibilities including to:
- register NDIS providers and monitor compliance with national standards
- respond to complaints and reportable incidents, such as abuse of a person with disability
- oversee and enforce a new national code of conduct for all workers, and
- issue penalties for breaches of the code
- set national policy for the screening of workers
- monitor restrictive practices in the industry, such as use of physical restraints.
To make a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry, click here.
For more information on the government’s proposed legislation, click here.
