Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks very much, Senator Steele-John. I know that you know this, but there are 5½ million Australians, or in that order, with disability, and our government's intention is to ensure that all people with disability are supported to live their best lives and to meet their goals. Some of those people, as you also know, are supported by the NDIS. It is a critical, life-changing, incredibly important piece of Australia's social architecture and one that our government is very proud of. Many senators will have heard Minister Butler's speech and his remarks over the last week, where he talked about our determination to ensure that the NDIS is here for the long term to play the role that it is intended to play in supporting people with significant and permanent disability to meet their objectives.

What he also said was that we need to make sure that it is not the only source of support for people with disability. Senators will know that we have been working for some years now, with stakeholders and with states and territories, to answer the question that was put to us by the review undertaken by Bruce Bonyhady and Lisa Paul: what should we do about the absence of supports in the broader community for people with disability who may not be appropriate candidates or suitable candidates for entering into the NDIS? That's the question the government is seeking to answer, senators, and Minister Butler made an important contribution last week about that exact issue.

We know that people with autism, autistic people, have— (Time expired)