Disability Services Law Reform in NSW

New laws will be established to support modifications to the funding of disability services and to facilitate preparedness for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which will be established across NSW from July 2018.

The Disability Services Act 1993 will be reviewed and restructured to reflect a contemporary approach to supporting people with a disability and will ensure NSW models key elements of individual choice and control and sector reform underpinning the NDIS. In announcing the review, NSW Minister for Disability Services Andrew Constance explained, “[The Disability Services Act] needs to be modernised to reflect the shift towards person centred disability services, client-directed supports and individualised budgets, where the person with disability is at the centre of decision making and is able to exercise choice and control over the nature of their supports and how they are delivered.”

Last month, NSW and Australian Governments reached an agreement that wholly establishes the NDIS across NSW from July 2018. The agreement has the objective of ensuring that all people with a disability across NSW have access to a scheme, based on insurance principles, that guarantees lifetime coverage for the cost of reasonable and necessary care and support.

The NSW legislative reform process will occur concurrently with the commencement of the NDIS under Commonwealth NDIS legislation in the Hunter, the first stage launch site in NSW. The launch will commence during 2013-14 for eligible residents from the local government areas of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Maitland. Any new legislative amendments suggested as a result of the Disability Services Act review will have to consider the Commonwealth NDIS legislation and the agreed design and governance of the Scheme.

Read the latest media release here.

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