Most people with a disability living in Australia have no legal right to receive the support they need to live and participate in the community. The federal government’s own Productivity Commission summed it up this way:

“The current disability support system is underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient. It gives people with a disability little choice, no certainty of access to appropriate supports and little scope to participate in the community.”

This violation of human rights shocks many Australians. Most people think that, in the “lucky country”, everyone gets a fair go.

Fortunately, the winds of change are blowing. The Productivity Commission has recommended that a NDIS be established to ensure that, in future, Australians with a disability, their carers and families receive the support they need. The NDIS represents a fundamental reform to the way disability services are funded and delivered. It would be a social reform on the scale of the introduction of Medicare and compulsory superannuation.

The NDIS proposal has received encouraging early support from the Prime Minister and all sides of politics at state and federal level. Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes said in a recent speech, “Leading up to the release of the report, and day after day in the Federal Parliament since then, members from both sides, and the cross-benches, support the implementation. I can’t remember any other major public policy initiative in the last 30 years with support like that.”

However, because the current system is so broken, the cost of introducing the NDIS is huge. Our politicians need to know that an NDIS has broad-based community support or it will not happen. To add your voice to the NDIS campaign, please visit http://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/

For Paul, the clock is ticking. He will gain nothing from an NDIS. For him it will be too late. Diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, Paul's condition has deteriorated. Go to the Every Australian Counts website to watch his video.

House with No Steps is proud to be a supporter of the NDIS.