More than 9 per cent of five to seven-year-old Australian children were NDIS participants as of December 31.Credit:Peter Braig
Children with developmental delay were the main drivers of growth as 9519 more children – or 11 per cent – were on the scheme than had been assumed. The average payment for those children over the six months,$14,000 per participant,was also 19 per cent more than expected in June.
The latest data underscores the urgency of last year’s national cabinet commitment between state and federal governmentsto establish a new system of so-called “foundational supports” so parents can find help for their children without joining the NDIS,which will cost $100 billion in a decade without change.
But it also demonstrates the enormity of the challenge facing NDIS Minister Bill Shorten – whose agency avoided scrutiny over the figures whenit did not bring them to a Senate estimates hearing earlier this week – as he tries to temper growth rates so the scheme remains sustainable for Australians with the most significant disabilities.
More than 9 per cent of five to seven-year-old Australian children were NDIS participants as of December 31,with 12.4 per cent of boys and 5.5 per cent of girls that age accessing support. For NDIS participants under 18,the most prevalent disabilities are autism and developmental delay.
The scheme now serves 646,449 Australians,a 2 per cent increase from the previous quarter.
The report said the main challenges for the NDIS’s financial sustainability were high numbers of children with developmental delay entering the scheme,as well as growing numbers of adults with autism. Increasing average plan budgets – which grew at an annualised rate of 14.4 per cent between June and December – are the other pressure point.