National Disability Insurance Scheme
Brief ministerial statement
Ms Hannah Beazley (Victoria Park—Minister for Disability Services) (12:10 pm): The Cook government supports a strong and high-performing National Disability Insurance Scheme. The NDIS is achieving good things for Western Australians and improving the lives of participants here and their families and carers. I am pleased to inform the house of a highly significant agreement between the Albanese and Cook Labor governments to secure the future of the NDIS in Western Australia. Together, we have signed our NDIS Full Scheme Bilateral Agreement and, in doing so, our governments will provide certainty to Western Australians with disability, their families and carers as the NDIS will continue to provide life-changing support into the future.
Prior to signing this agreement, WA was the only state continuing to operate under transitional arrangements. This is a significant milestone for the NDIS in WA, which has fundamentally changed the landscape of our disability support ecosystem and currently supports more than 62,000 Western Australians. Through the agreement, the governance of the scheme will be strengthened through the establishment of a WA community advisory council to advise continuous improvement of participants' NDIS experience. The council will comprise representatives with lived experience, advocacy and sector backgrounds, alongside state and federal government representatives. It will play a crucial governance role in advising and advocating for participants to ensure the scheme is working well for Western Australians.
Importantly, both governments have also committed to working together to improve access to NDIS supports in regional and remote WA. This will build on the success of the trial site launched in Katanning in 2024, which is working to find community-driven solutions to bridge the gap between demand and access to services in the region.
This agreement reflects the shared responsibility of both governments to deliver a sustainable and effective NDIS. We are committed to working with the Commonwealth to reform and strengthen the NDIS, including through the progression of the recommendations of the Independent Review into the NDIS and the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. The agreement provides the future funding arrangements for the NDIS, which will see the state pay fixed contributions to the scheme. In 2023–2024, WA contributed $1.3 billion towards the operation of the scheme to support people who have permanent and significant disability. Finalisation of the agreement also includes a reimbursement payment to WA of over $840 million this financial year for expenditure incurred during the transition to the NDIS over the past decade through the DisabilityCare Australia Fund.
The agreement ensures the future of the NDIS in WA, as all governments progress NDIS reforms, putting people with disability at the centre of the scheme.
