ROLLOUT of the National Disability Insurance Scheme continues with people with disabilities living in the Limestone Coast able to access the scheme from this week.
The State Government claims the reforms will help create 500 jobs in the Limestone Coast.
Clients will start to transition to the NDIS ahead of the full implementation in July 2018.
The rollout comes on the back of an extensive public awareness campaign which has seen more than 2000 people attend the NDIS expos held across South Australia, including a recent Mount Gambier event.
A further 700,000 people have been reached via social media as part of the campaign to inform South Australians of the transition process.
South Australia was the first jurisdiction to sign up to the national reform, establishing the trial site for children 14 and under in 2013.
Since then, 14 to 17-year-olds and people living in Adelaide’s northern suburbs have been transitioned to the scheme.
Disabilities Minister Katrine Hildyard welcomed the next phase, saying the NDIS will provide more choice for South Australians living with disability and create 6000 new full-time jobs.
Ms Hildyard said the State Government would continue to help South Australians with a disability to access the scheme and to work through any issues that may arise, ensuring they have improved choice and control over the services and supports they need.
Once the NDIS is fully rolled out in South Australia, around 32,000 people will receive support through the scheme, almost double the number of people previously receiving disability support services in our state.
The State Government is also investing $723m a year to support the NDIS, which is lifting annual funding for disability support services in South Australia to $1.5b.
“The NDIS is a once in a generation reform that is bettering the lives of South Australians with disability and giving participants choice and control of the supports they need,” Ms Hildyard said.
“We’re also enshrining in legislation the right of all South Australians with disability to be active participants in our community, with the Disability Inclusion Bill 2017 introduced into state parliament last week.”
Visit www.ndis.gov.au for more information.
