Understanding ‘Choice and Control’ in the NDIS

“How’s the Choice and Control?”

A reflection on the state of play of the NDIS from a concerned father.

“How’s the serenity?” Is a well-known quote from the 1997 Australian film The Castle, spoken by Darryl Kerrigan to describe the peaceful atmosphere of his holiday home in Bonnie Doon.

When Darryl poses this existential question on the porch to his family members, the mossie killer machine is buzzing furiously on the wall behind them. That’s what makes this quote both iconic and ironic.

This film scene popped into mind today as I was reflecting on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – ten years since it was launched with a mantra of “choice and control”.

Choice and control are defined as a principle that enables participants full control to make their own decisions about their supports.

I know as a father of a daughter with a disability – all I want in the world is for her to feel comfortable and in control of her life.

Now, like serenity, choice and control sound great. But let’s follow Darryl’s lead and ask, “How’s the Choice and Control”?

Let’s start with choice.

The NDIS has seen an explosion of choice. It takes more regulation to pour a beer in Australia than to become a disability support provider meaning the barrier to entry is low.

But the biggest problem here – the mozzie zapper in the background – is the lack of visibility the Government has over what these providers are doing. Only six per cent of providers are registered with the NDIS – critically reducing the oversight the agency needs.

This leaves 94 per cent who exist in no man’s land. Some are inexperienced, untrained but have an ABN and are unbothered by professional oversight.

As a father and the founder of Wallara Australia, which provides over 500 people with disabilities with employment opportunities and support, these providers charge the same prices as us.

Choice is no issue – but studies clearly show that too much of it can be worse than not enough.

If you aren’t well equipped to filter through the noise then you may leave yourself exposed to potential fraud.

Having such a wide choice of providers sure makes a participant feel more control. The two concepts go together – if you have more choice, then you feel more in control.

Unfortunately, the NDIS reset that is underway and is causing so much distress is required because the scheme was financially out of control and putting its social licence in danger.

Plans are being resized and the most critical decision of all – to assess a participant’s impairment and the appropriate level of funding – is being set by an algorithm we are told to trust. Control is being pulled away in ways we never could have envisioned.

That’s the mossie zapper going crazy on the porch in Bonny Doon.

Don’t get me wrong – the scheme has changed hundreds of thousands of lives for the better including my daughters and I don’t believe choice and control is an empty promise.

However, there always had to be limits and guardrails. Just like the porch at Bonny Doon, the serenity isn’t limitless. Are the mossies in Bonny Doon actually the fraudulent providers that need to be removed to protect participants on the porch?

For Darryl, the mozzie zapper noise interference to his pure serenity was a necessary reality. He didn’t even really notice it and his rapture with Bonny Doon wasn’t diminished. As onlookers, we find it curious and ironic. But for Darryl, he thinks we’re mad for letting something like that spoil the experience. That’s my hope for the reset of the NDIS.

Phil Hayes-Brown

CEO, Wallara