1131. Hon ALISON XAMON to the Minister for Disability Services:
I refer to the interface between the National Disability Insurance Scheme and mainstream government services including, but not limited to, public mental health services.
(1) Are frameworks and/or practice guidelines being developed in Western Australia to provide a strategic approach to ensuring that people experiencing multiple barriers in accessing mainstream services receive targeted support to support them to test their eligibility to access the NDIS?
(2) If no to (1), why not?
(3) If yes to (1), who is responsible for developing these guiding documents and when will they be available?
(4) Have staff positions been allocated within mainstream agencies to lead and support the interface with the NDIS to their services?
(5) If yes to (4), please list which agencies and how many full-time equivalent positions have been allocated.
(6) If no to (4), why not?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1) Although responsibility for supporting individuals to test their eligibility to access the NDIS lies with the National Disability Insurance Agency, the Department of Communities has been working closely with the NDIA to develop the complex support needs pathway. The goal of the pathway is to work collaboratively with other government services, including the Mental Health Commission, to coordinate information-sharing and develop and maintain local relationships with other government and community services to identify potential participants and increase NDIS awareness. At a strategic level, the NDIS interface steering committee has been established as a subgroup of the directors general implementation group to support the DGIG in providing high-level governance, oversight and coordination of the transition to full scheme NDIS across mainstream agencies.
(2) Not applicable.
(3) The NDIA will be responsible for initiatives such as this.
(4)–(6) These questions should be directed to the relevant ministers of the mainstream agencies in question.