Single parent frustrated with NDIS after daughter's plan cut back

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The father of a disabled girl is frustrated at the bureaucracy he faces when dealing with the National Disability Insurance Agency. He claims tens of thousands of dollars have been stripped from his daughter's funding plan, leading to exhausting reviews and drawn-out appeals.

Transcript

00:00 Eight year old Ellie needs 24/7 care.

00:05 Can you write your name Ellie?

00:07 She lives with White-Sutton Syndrome, autism, ADHD and epilepsy.

00:12 It's a recipe for disaster and what I have to cope with is enormous.

00:19 Ellie's not getting the therapies she needs because her NDIS package was cut by $26,000.

00:26 You can't even get an assessment from a psychologist.

00:30 The NDIA says it's standard practice to request more evidence of a child's disability when

00:35 they turn eight, but Peter says he was never told.

00:39 He says his requests for an appeal were ignored until he contacted the media.

00:44 I was very upset about it because my daughter needs help now.

00:51 Ellie's funding has since been increased but her doctors argue it's still not enough and

00:56 have launched a second appeal on her behalf.

00:58 In the meantime we need to pay bills for her.

01:02 The NDIS is almost like a second job.

01:05 Advocates say Peter is among hundreds fighting months-long battles with the NDIA despite

01:11 repeated inquiries that have promised to resolve the hurdles.

01:15 People are on a sort of perpetual hamster wheel of running around, going to specialists,

01:22 going to doctors.

01:23 An in-depth investigation by Advocacy for Inclusion says it overshadows the good work

01:29 the NDIS provides.

01:31 People have told us their documents have gone missing.

01:33 The report also revealed the story of a client who was forced to sleep in an armchair for

01:38 12 months while waiting for their accessible bed to be approved.

01:43 There are also ongoing concerns the local area coordinators are constantly changing

01:48 and therefore don't know enough about their client.

01:51 We need some attention to the way that the NDIS communicates.

01:56 I wouldn't like anyone to go through it.

02:01 It's very bad.

02:02 A plea for help from those who really need it.

02:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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