There was a big focus in this year’s 2024 Federal Budget for people with disability on the back of massive changes that have been proposed by the Government to get the NDIS back on track.
With more than one in six Australians living with disability, it is more important than ever to keep moving towards a more equitable, accessible and inclusive future for all.
The key takeaways for this year’s 2024 Federal Budget for people with disability include:
- New Specialist Disability Employment Program
- Disability Employment Centre for Excellence
- NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee
- National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline and the Complaints Resolution and Referral Service
Specialist Disability Employment Program
In a media release from the Albanese Labor Government, the Budget has detailed that there will be an additional $227.6 million ($5.4 billion total) over the next five years to help more people with disability prepare for and find suitable employment’ through a new specialised program. The Specialist Disability Employment program is set to commence on the 1st of July 2025.
The program will include a modern digital program that will help to deliver better supports to participants and providers. The Government hopes that this new program will shift the culture in employment services for people living with disability and set an expectation of high-quality services to meet participant’s unique needs.
Additionally, there will be increased flexibility and supports that will help to create diverse pathways to help people with disability find and keep jobs. This also includes a wage subsidy of up to $10,000.
Disability Employment Centre
The Government has also promised $26.3 million in funding over the next four years to launch a Disability Employment Centre of Excellence. The new Centre has been created to increase the capacity of employment service providers in order to deliver higher quality and more effective services.
Furthermore, the Disability Employment Centre of Excellence will share innovation and best practices, as well as increase the capacity of employment services providers. In line with key findings from the 2023 Royal Commission, the Government has also committed to an additional 15,000 people with disability to be able to access the program each year.
NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee
An NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee has also been announced by the Government in response to one of the key recommendations made by the Independent NDIS Review. The Government is committing to $45.5 million over four years (as well as 13.3 million per year ongoing) to establish the Advisory Committee.
The new Committee has been established to provide independent and transparent advice to the Government on what works best for participants who access the scheme. Additionally, it will provide advice on the evidence base for therapeutic supports accessed through the NDIS to hopefully improve outcomes for participants.
Furthermore, the Government has said that in doing this, it will allow them to determined the efficacy and cost benefits of ‘reasonable and necessary’ supports.
National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline and the Complaints Resolution and Referral Service
Lastly, the Government has increased funding to the amount of $2.6 million in additional supports for the continued delivery of the National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline and the Complaints Resolution and Referral Service.
This additional funding will ensure service continuity for people with disability to access fair, impartial and independent advice and voicing any concerns they may have.
Other mentions in the 2024 Federal Budget for People Living with Disability
Universities will be allocated additional funding to be spent on supporting students who are from:
- Low socio-economic backgrounds
- First Nations students
- People with disability
- Students at regional campuses
Additionally, there will be $141.1 million over the span of four years spent on supporting people accessing life-saving vaccines. This also includes expanding the National Immunisation Program Vaccinations in Pharmacy Program which allows pharmacists to administer vaccines in residential disability services.
The budget will also allocate $468.7 million to help get the NDIS back on track. This amount will be split into two with $268.1 million to help protect NDIS participants and prevent fraud, and the remaining $200.6 million to design and consult on key recommendations made by the independent NDIS review.
At Ability Partners, we work in partnership with you to achieve goals that really matter. We deliver evidence-based practice and work with you as a team.
