Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Henderson for her question and I particularly acknowledge her significant involvement in the NDIS and her work with people with disability in her time as the assistant minister with that responsibility.

Today the government has released the National Disability Insurance Scheme quarterly report for the first quarter of 2019-20. As at 30 September 2019, we now see more than 310,000 Australians who live with disability, including children, being supported by the NDIS. That is a significant increase and a significant improvement. One of the most significant statistics is that more than 110,000 Australians living with disability are receiving support for the first time. This equates to 37 per cent of the NDIS participants actually receiving assistance for the very first time. That is an outstanding result for those people.

With respect to access decisions currently with the NDIA, in the last quarter all decisions have been progressing at an average of 12 days. That's compared with 38 days just three months prior. This means that access decisions are being made well within the legislated requirement and time frame of 21 days. This means that there are currently no backlogs or delays in getting access to the NDIS. Similarly, we have also seen improvements in the approval of first plans after an access decision has been made. That is 88 days on average, in comparison to 133 days in June. Waiting times for access to early childhood, early intervention supports have also improved in the last quarter, with waiting times for children zero to six— (Time expired)