Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

Currently, the way that the scheme works is that people—as you say, often parents—pay for the functional assessment as they enter the scheme. Those assessments are often then used in the needs assessment process, which I know you're going to take me to. The government has had a very good look at the recommendations in relation to how those are funded, but, as I indicated the last time we discussed these issues in here, the government's approach to this will be to wait until that consultation process has concluded, in order to determine how funding is allocated.

As you correctly say, once a person enters the scheme at the moment, additional assessments may well be funded from within their NDIS allocation. The government is having a close look at that whole picture, subject to the consultation process, which will determine the scope and the way that people enter the scheme and the way that those assessments are conducted both for functional and needs assessment purposes. So I'm going to be very clear: it is not appropriate for the government to determine that question until we have on the table a clear understanding that can be taken through the normal processes that government would go through in terms of its normal budget processes.