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

Given the complexity of this stuff, I may need to get some advice from time to time. The bill draws a link between impairments that meet the disability and early intervention criteria—that is, the disability criteria in accordance with section 24 and the section 25 early intervention criteria—and the supports that are provided to a participant under the NDIS, which are the supports provided in relation to section 24 and/or section 25 criteria. That link between impairments and what is funded under a participant's plan is necessary to ensure that the scheme operates as it was originally and always intended to operate. The scheme wasn't intended to fund all of the costs associated with a person's life because they have a disability. Rather, it is intended to fund the cost of disability supports that a person requires as a result of a significant or permanent disability. That is the nub of the issue. I'm happy to be taken to it more broadly, but that's essentially the purpose of those amendments.