National Disability Agreement

New Commonwealth – State Financial Arrangements

In late 2007 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) endorsed a new approach to Commonwealth State financial arrangements.

From January 2009, the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations (IGA) came into effect. The National Disability Agreement (NDA) is a schedule to the IGA. The NDA replaces the third Commonwealth-State/Territory Disability Agreement (CSTDA) which expired on 31 December 2008.

The NDA provides the national framework for the provision of government support to services for people with a disability.

The new Commonwealth-State financial relationship is focused on objectives, outcomes, roles and responsibilities.

The objective of the framework for federal financial relations is the improvement of the well-being of all Australians through:

collaborative working arrangements, including clearly defined roles and responsibilities and fair and sustainable financial arrangements, to facilitate a focus by the Parties on long term policy development and enhanced government service delivery;
enhanced public accountability through simpler, standardised and more transparent performance reporting by all jurisdictions, with a focus on the achievement of outcomes, efficient service delivery and timely public reporting;
reduced administration and compliance overheads;
stronger incentives to implement economic and social reforms;
the on-going provision of Goods and Services Tax (GST) payments to the States and Territories equivalent to the revenue received from the GST; and
the equalisation of fiscal capacities between States and Territories.

The Commonwealth Funding contribution to states and territories towards achieving the objectives, outcomes and outputs specified in the National Disability Agreement is paid through the National Disability Services Specific Purpose Payment (SPP).

The NDA contains statements of objectives, outcomes and outputs in respect of disability services in Australia, agreed to by all Australian jurisdictions.

The overarching objective of the Agreement is that:

"People with disability and their carers have an enhanced quality of life and participate as valued members of the community".

The Agreement will contribute to the following outcomes:

People with disability achieve economic participation and social inclusion;
People with disability enjoy choice, wellbeing and the opportunity to live as independently as possible; and
Families and carers are well supported.

The Agreement specifies a number of outputs which support the above outcomes. These are:

Services that provide skills and supports to people with disability to enable them to live as independently as possible;
Services that assist people with disability to live in stable and sustainable living arrangements;
Income support for people with disability and their carers; and
Services that assist families and carers in their caring role.

Policy and Reform Priorities

All Governments have agreed to create a service system which enhances the social and economic participation for people with disability and supports their families and carers. The agreed policy directions to achieve this are to:

Improve provision of the skills and opportunities to enhance the capability of people with disability to participate in social, economic and community activities;
Ensure services are person centred and provide timely access to supports based on assessed needs;
Identify, plan and respond to the development and support needs of people with disability at an early stage and at key life transition points; and
Support the role of families and carers including strengthening their informal support networks.

All Governments have agreed to concentrate initial efforts in several identified priority areas to underpin these policy directions . They are:

Better Measurement of Need

Under this priority: a national model to estimate demand will be developed by mid 2010; there will be improvements in the data collected through the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), which will provide a stronger basis for demand estimates; and improvements in the quality of data reported under the National Minimum Data Set, and jurisdiction-level unmet demand data.
Population Benchmarking for Disability Services

A National Population Benchmarking Framework will be developed and initial population benchmarking of disability services, based on information available, will be achieved by mid 2010 and improve the evidence base to assist in policy, service and planning decisions.
Making Older Carers a Priority

The National Disability Priorities Framework will assist Governments to target services to more vulnerable population groups based on relative need (including older carers and Indigenous people with disability).
Quality Improvement Systems based on Disability Standards

A National Disability Quality Framework with a National Quality Assurance system for disability services will be developed to introduce a national approach to quality assurance and the continuous improvement of disability services by mid 2010.
Service Planning and Strategies to Simplify Access

The National Framework for Service Planning and Access will be developed, focussing on providing a person centred approach to service delivery and simplifying access to specialist disability services.
Early Intervention and Prevention, Lifelong Planning and Increasing Independence and Social Participation Strategies

An Early Intervention and Prevention Framework will be developed to increase Governments' ability to be effective with early intervention and prevention strategies and to ensure that clients receive the most appropriate and timely support by mid 2011.
Increased Workforce Capacity

A national workforce strategy will be developed to address qualifications, training and cross sector career mapping issues and establishing the disability sector as an 'industry of choice' by the end of 2010.
Increased Access for Indigenous Australians

A National Indigenous Access Framework will ensure that the needs of Indigenous Australians with disability are addressed through appropriate service delivery arrangements.
Access to Aids and Equipment

More consistent access to aids and equipment by the end of 2012.
Improved Access to Disability Care

To create systems that improve access to disability care and ensure people are referred to the most appropriate disability services and supports, including consideration of single access points and national consistent assessment processes in line with nationally agreed principles by the end of 2011.

All Governments have agreed to work together to review the priority reform areas from time-to-time in light of emerging priorities at the national and local level. The NDA also commits the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to the following:

the establishment of a National Disability Strategy to guide disability policy across jurisdictions;
a national approach to and the harmonisation of rules for accessible parking;
the establishment of a National Companion Card Scheme to allow people with a disability who are dependent on full time care to take a carer to various sporting/entertainment events for the price of a single ticket;
ensuring Younger Veterans have access to specialist disability services;
modernising Print Disability Services to support new technology to provide more immediate access to information and materials; and
Community Aged Care Packages to provide disability supports for people living in group homes who have increased needs due to ageing.

Through the NDA, Commonwealth, state and territory governments also agreed to consider improvements in administration of advocacy services, review Mental Health and Autism, and work together to review the priority reform areas from time-to-time in light of emerging priorities at the national and local levels.

Core Equipment List

The Core Equipment List has been developed in response to the National Disability Agreement (NDA) aids and equipment reform priority.

The list outlines categories of aids and equipment that are currently available in all states and territories. Specific items provided under each sub-category may vary between states and territories and sub-category items which are available in some, but not all, jurisdictions have not been included on the list but will continue to be available locally.

Access to items on the list, is subject to the relevant eligibility requirements for respective state/territory aids and equipment programs and for further details, individuals should contact the equipment scheme in their state or territory.

http://www.dprwg.gov.au/research-development/publications/core-equipment-list

National Disability Agreement

New Commonwealth – State Financial Arrangements