Legal Aid NSW has welcomed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which should see funds required by people with disability made available to them much sooner than they have been.
Figures released by Legal Aid show that people with disabilities have had to wait up to almost two years in their fight to have their needs met under the national NDIS program.
Legal Aid said its team of specialist lawyers had assisted almost all their clients to settle their matters before they reached a hearing at the Commonwealth’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
“The average wait for clients was almost a year, or 332 days,” Legal Aid said.
“For those seeking funding for disability-related health supports, those days may now be over,” it said.
It said that in June the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments endorsed major reforms to improve the delivery of the NDIS, including its funding arrangements.
Head of the specialist NDIS team and lawyer at Legal Aid, Jackie Finlay said the new measures were a major win for her clients.
“We welcome these reforms for disability-related health supports, which will make the pathway for clients both clearer and faster,” Ms Finlay said.
