Cockburn: NDIS rollout delayed a year for more trials

Two NDIS trials are currently running in WA.

The state-run WA NDIS operates in the Lower South-West region and Cockburn and Kwinana.

The federally-run National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) model is active in the Perth Hills region.

The trials were meant to wrap up in June, at which time a decision on which scheme to go with was to have been made.

Instead, the trial, with new locations added, has been extended to July next year.

WA NDIS trial sites will be expanded to include Armadale, Murray and Serpentine-Jarrahdale from October.

From January, the NDIA trial will include Bayswater, Bassendean, Chittering, Toodyay, York and Northam.

Federal Social Services Minister Christian Porter said the extension would provide certainty for 11,000 participants while the details of the full scheme model were finalised.

“The chosen scheme will be informed by the comparative evaluation and will be done in consultation with people with disability, their families, carers and service providers,” he said.

State Disability Services Minister Donna Faragher said a lot had been learned from those participating in the trials.

“We are continually learning from trials here in WA and the full implementation of the NDIS will draw from those experiences, the independent evaluation and importantly the input of people with disability, their families and carers, and the disability services sector,” she said.

n There are 2230 people eligible for support under the WA NDIS trial, 1291 of those in Cockburn and Kwinana.