Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton attended the opening of the new St Vincent de Paul’s National Disability Insurance Scheme’s Local Area Coordinator (LAC) office in Moree today.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides a number of ways to assist people with disability to exercise choice, including taking reasonable risks in the pursuit of their goals and the planning and delivery of their supports. One of the ways this is done is through Local Area Coordination (LAC).
LACs will work closely with the NDIA to build and improve the way the Scheme is delivered to make sure it works for people with disability in the best possible way.
The NDIS started to become available to Moree residents in July 2016 when the Scheme commenced rolling out to the remaining areas in the Hunter New England district.
Mr Coulton said it was great to see the NDIS find a home in Moree and welcomed the economic benefits the Scheme would bring the local community.
“It’s expected the NDIS will create up to 3850 new jobs in Hunter New England in the next three years,” he said.
“With the disability services market in Hunter New England set to grow to approximately $1.04 billion, this is an exciting opportunity for new and existing providers in Moree to grow their offerings to cater for increased local demand.”
By 30 June 2019, the NDIS will provide support to 21,500 people with disability in Hunter New England, a 69 per cent growth in demand.
“This is not just an opportunity for the disability sector, there are significant opportunities for local mainstream businesses to make their services more accessible and inclusive for people with disability,” Mr Coulton said.
“If you are currently receiving disability supports and have not connected to the Scheme yet it is likely that you will receive a call from St Vincent de Paul’s Moree LAC team to get the process underway in the next few months.
“If you need supports and don’t already receive them, I would encourage you to visit the NDIS website to check the access criteria or contact the NDIA office, located at 11 Auburn Street, Moree is open from 8.30am until 4.30pm from Monday to Friday.”
The NDIS provides all eligible Australians under the age of 65 with a permanent and significant disability with the reasonable and necessary supports they need to live an ordinary life. This may include personal care and support, access to the community, therapy services and essential equipment.
The Scheme is expected to support 460,000 Australians by 2019.
For more information on how people with disability, their families and carers, providers and the community can get NDIS Ready, visit the NDIS website www.ndis.gov.au
