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

Thank you, Senator Grogan. You're right that, from time to time, there are circumstances where individuals may wish to directly purchase an item, so this amendment introduces a new subsection into the act. It, effectively, provides that a registered provider will be taken to have delivered a funded aged-care service. The technical language is 'even where that service was delivered by one or more associated providers of the registered provider'.

What it will mean is that an individual can directly purchase an item—it might be a continence product; it might be a low-cost assistive technology—and then receive reimbursement from that registered provider. It will also mean that individuals could be reimbursed when paying provider invoices as part of self-management. In that scenario, the registered provider would remain responsible for the services being delivered to the individual and for the aged-care workers delivering those services. There are a wide variety of consumables that people might be seeking to purchase under this system. It might be things like assistive technology devices that help with mobility, communication or daily tasks; or barrier creams to protect skin and maintain skin integrity. People might need to purchase wound dressings for managing or protecting wounds, continence pads to support bladder or bowel management, or catheters. These are important features of care, and this is a small but consequential change to the act.