National Disability Insurance Scheme (Facilitating the Preparation of Participants’ Plans—New South Wales) Rules 2013
National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (the Act)
The Act establishes the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
People who are participants in the NDIS will be assisted to develop a personal, goal-based plan about how they will be provided with general supports and reasonable and necessary supports.
The NDIS will respect the interests of people with disability in exercising choice and control about matters that affect them.
National Disability Insurance Scheme (Facilitating the Preparation of Participants’ Plans—New South Wales) Rules 2013
These Rules are made for the purposes of sections 32 and 32A (other than subsection 32A(4)) of the Act.
These Rules are about the circumstances in which the facilitation of the preparation of participants’ plans will commence in the State of New South Wales.
These Rules commence on 1 July 2013.
The Hon Jenny Macklin MP
Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Minister for Disability Reform
24 June 2013
Contents
National Disability Insurance Scheme (Facilitating the Preparation of Participants’ Plans—New South Wales) Rules 2013 1
Part 1 What these Rules are about 3
Part 2 Preparation of plans for residents of New South Wales 4
Part 3 Other matters 8
Citation 8
Interpretation 8
Part 1 What these Rules are about
1.1 Each participant in the NDIS launch will have a plan, prepared by and with the participant and approved by the CEO of the Agency. Among other things, a participant’s plan sets out the supports that will be funded for the participant.
1.2 To enable an orderly launch, participants will be phased into the NDIS. There are two steps involved in accessing supports under the NDIS. The first is to become a participant: the prospective participant makes an access request and the CEO decides that they meet the access criteria. The second is for the participant to have a plan approved by the CEO of the Agency. These Rules relate to the second step, and the order in which the CEO will commence the facilitation of the preparation of plans for different groups, known as classes, of participants.
1.3 In New South Wales, the NDIS launch will initially be restricted to particular launch areas, being Newcastle City, Lake Macquarie City and Maitland City: see the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Becoming a Participant) Rules 2013. This is because one of the access criteria for participants or prospective participants in New South Wales is that they reside in one of those areas.
1.4 These Rules explain how participants in New South Wales who are receiving certain disability services from the Commonwealth or New South Wales will be phased into the NDIS. That phasing is generally done on the basis of the launch area or residential centre in which a participant resides. New clients—including those not receiving disability services from the Commonwealth or New South Wales—will have their plans facilitated as soon as reasonably practicable after they become participants.
1.5 The phasing process is based on an agreement that has been reached between the Government of the Commonwealth and the Government of New South Wales (the Intergovernmental Agreement for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Launch, Schedule A—Bilateral Agreement for NDIS Launch between the Commonwealth and New South Wales) and is intended to give effect to that agreement.
1.6 The Act sets out a number of objects and principles for the NDIS, to which these Rules give effect. In giving effect to the objects, regard is to be had to the progressive implementation of the NDIS and the need to ensure the financial sustainability of the NDIS.
Part 2 Preparation of plans for residents of New South Wales
2.1 Once a person becomes a participant, the CEO can commence facilitating the preparation of a plan for the person. The process for commencing the facilitation of the preparation of plans for participants in New South Wales is detailed below.
2.2 The table in paragraph 2.7 sets out five classes of New South Wales participants and sets out the circumstances in, or periods within, which the CEO is to commence the facilitation of the preparation of those participants’ plans. Most classes are dealt with sequentially; facilitation for a class will usually be commenced once the CEO has decided that the Agency has the capacity to do so, in light of the number of participants in previous classes whose plans have been dealt with, and the number yet to be dealt with.
2.3 The CEO’s decisions to commence facilitating the preparation of plans for classes are tied to particular dates. Sometimes the decision must be made before a particular date; sometimes the decision must be made after a particular date.
2.4 Otherwise, the sequence of classes is generally flexible. The CEO need not be satisfied that all participants in a particular class have had their plans facilitated before moving on to the next class; for example, the Agency has the capacity to commence the facilitation of plans in Class 2 before having fully completed that task for Class 1. Further, the classes do not close at any point in time. For example, a person in Class 1 who becomes a participant after the Agency has started to facilitate plans for Class 2 participants can still have their plan facilitated while participants in Class 2 are having their plans facilitated.
2.5 If a participant who is a resident of an NDIS launch area in New South Wales is a new client (see paragraph 3.4), the CEO is to commence facilitating the preparation of the participant’s plan as soon as reasonably practicable having regard to the CEO’s obligations to commence facilitating the preparation of other participants’ plans. Such participants are not part of the phasing sequence set out in the table; their plans will be facilitated as soon as reasonably practicable after they become participants. This ensures equity of access to the NDIS for such participants, who include those who are not receiving Commonwealth disability services or New South Wales disability services.
Paragraph 2.5 summarises the effect of subsection 32(3) of the Act.
2.6 In urgent circumstances, the CEO can commence the facilitation of the preparation of a participant’s plan at a particular time, despite the sequence set out in the table in paragraph 2.7. If the CEO does so, the CEO is able to delay the commencement of the facilitation of the preparation of other participants’ plans, so far as is reasonably necessary, even if that delay would be contrary to that sequence.
Paragraph 2.6 summarises the effect of subsection 32(3A) of the Act.
2.7 The five classes of participants, and the circumstances in, or period within, which the CEO is to commence facilitating the preparation of plans for participants in those classes, are as follows:
Class
Participants in the class (who must be residents of an NDIS launch area in New South Wales)
Circumstances in, or period within, which the CEO is to commence facilitating the preparation of the participants’ plans
Class 1
Persons who reside in Newcastle City and receive Commonwealth disability services or New South Wales disability services, other than residents of the Stockton Large Residential Centre
As soon as practicable after the participants become participants
Class 2
Persons who reside in the Stockton Large Residential Centre
The CEO decides (on or after 1 January 2014) that the Agency has the capacity to commence the facilitation of the preparation of the participants’ plans, in light of the number of participants in Class 1 whose plans have been dealt with and the number yet to be dealt with
Class 3
Persons who reside in Lake Macquarie City and receive Commonwealth disability services or New South Wales disability services, other than residents of the Kanangra Large Residential Centre
The CEO decides (no later than 30 June 2014) that, having regard to the capacity of the Agency to commence the facilitation of the preparation of the participants’ plans in light of the number of participants in Classes 1 and 2 whose plans have been dealt with and the number yet to be dealt with, it is appropriate to commence facilitating the preparation of the plans
Class 4
Persons who reside in the Kanangra Large Residential Centre
The CEO decides (on or after 1 July 2014) that the Agency has the capacity to commence the facilitation of the preparation of the participants’ plans, in light of the number of participants in Classes 1, 2 and 3 whose plans have been dealt with and the number yet to be dealt with
Class 5
Persons who reside in Maitland City and receive Commonwealth disability services or New South Wales disability services
Between the beginning of 1 July 2015 and the end of that day
Subclasses
2.8 Among the participants in Class 1, 3 or 5 (a main class), the CEO may decide that there are one or more classes (subclasses) of participants, constituted by reference to:
(a) the identity of the provider of services to the participants; or
(b) the kind of services provided to the participants; or
(c) for supported accommodation residents—the home or facility in which they reside.
2.9 For each subclass, the CEO is to commence facilitating the preparation of plans for participants in the subclass when the CEO decides that it is appropriate to do so, having regard to the progress of the preparation of plans for participants in the relevant main class.
2.10 In making a decision under paragraph 2.8 or 2.9, or considering whether to make such a decision, the CEO must have regard to the following principles:
(a) that the commencement of the facilitation of the preparation of plans for persons who have individual funding arrangements for disability services with the State of New South Wales should be prioritised;
(b) that the facilitation of the preparation of plans for supported accommodation residents should be done in a way that:
(i) takes into account the intensive planning and support required for that facilitation; and
(ii) enables, where practicable, participants who reside in the same home or facility to have their plans facilitated contemporaneously;
(c) that where practicable, participants receiving services from the same provider should have their plans facilitated contemporaneously;
(d) that among subclasses constituted by reference to the identity of a provider, subclasses for providers who operate in one local government area only should be prioritised over subclasses for providers who operate in more than one local government area;
(e) that the Agency should retain the capacity to facilitate the preparation of plans of participants who do not receive Commonwealth disability services or New South Wales disability services.
2.11 Paragraph 2.10 does not limit the matters that the CEO may take into account in making a decision.
Consultation
2.12 In making a decision under paragraph 2.8 or 2.9, or considering whether to make such a decision, the CEO must also, where practicable, seek the views of the Government of New South Wales and have regard to those views (if any).
2.13 If the table in paragraph 2.7 requires that a decision be made on or after a particular date, and the CEO is considering making that decision after that date, the CEO must, as early as possible:
(a) seek the views of the Government of New South Wales and of the Commonwealth Department that administers the Act about the proposed decision (including their views about the effect that making the decision would have on arrangements agreed between the Commonwealth and New South Wales for the funding of the NDIS); and
(b) use his or her best endeavours to reach an agreement with those entities about the proposed decision.
Part 3 Other matters
Citation
3.1 These Rules may be cited as the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Facilitating the Preparation of Participants’ Plans—New South Wales) Rules 2013.
Interpretation
3.2 These Rules include text that summarises provisions of the Act. The boxed notes identify such text, which does not form an operative part of these Rules.
3.3 Terms and expressions that are used in the Act have the same meaning in these Rules unless these Rules display a contrary intention—see the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which include definitions and rules of interpretation that apply to all Commonwealth legislation. For convenience, the more important definitions from the Act are identified or reproduced in paragraph 3.4.
3.4 In these Rules:
Act means the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013.
Agency¾see section 9 of the Act.
CEO¾see section 9 of the Act.
child¾see section 9 of the Act.
Commonwealth disability services means the following programs, services or allowances:
(a) Australian Disability Enterprises;
(b) Helping Children with Autism;
(c) the Better Start for Children with Disability initiative;
(d) the Continence Aids Payment Scheme;
(e) Support for Day to Day Living in the Community—A Structured Activity Program;
(f) Disability Employment Services—Work Based Personal Assistance;
(g) Hearing Services Program;
(h) Improved Support for People with Younger Onset Dementia;
(i) Targeted Community Care—Mental Health;
(j) Respite: Carer Support and Personal Helpers and Mentors component;
(k) National Auslan Interpreter Booking and Payment Service;
(l) After School Hours Care for Teenagers with Disability;
(m) Partners in Recovery: Coordinated Support and Flexible Funding for people with severe and persistent mental illness and complex needs;
(n) Respite Support for Carers of Young People with Severe or Profound Disability;
(o) mobility allowance.
Lake Macquarie City means the area proclaimed as such under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW).
local government area means an area constituted under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW).
Maitland City means the area proclaimed as such under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW).
NDIS¾see section 9 of the Act.
NDIS launch area has the same meaning as in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Becoming a Participant) Rules 2013.
Newcastle City means the area proclaimed as such under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW).
new client means a participant who is a resident of New South Wales but does not fall within a class set out in the table in paragraph 2.7. The term new client reflects the fact that these participants are people who are not receiving Commonwealth disability services or New South Wales disability services.
New South Wales disability services means services provided or funded under the Disability Services Act 1993 (NSW).
NDIS rules¾see section 9 of the Act.
participant¾see section 9 of the Act.
