Aussie PM frets about sustainability of disability insurance scheme

The growth in payment per participant was due to inconsistent information, he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has expressed concerns about the sustainability of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) as wage bills and costs increase more than expected, according to media reports.

The growing number of participants had grown over the past three years, with 530,000 more people expected to join in the coming years. The average payment per participant has also jumped 12.5% per year, he said, and the average plan budget has increased 22% over the same time.

The growth in payment per participant was the result of planners lacking access to consistent information when making their funding decisions, Morrison added, as well as unclear instructions on what is and what isn’t paid under the NDIS.

Scheme growth beyond earlier forecasts is a cost to the Commonwealth as contributions and growth are fixed for the states and territories on full scheme agreements, he said.

The government is considering a number of actions, such as independent participant assessments to re-evaluate their eligibility for the scheme and the support they receive, in order to reduce increasing costs.