Labor created the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2013.

It remains the biggest social reform since Medicare.

Labor understood that the old system of disability support was broken, fragmented and inefficient. Far too many people with disability were not getting the support they need.

Many living with disability in Ipswich and the Somerset Region do not yet receive the support they need and deserve.

When the NDIS is fully rolled out, it will deliver more support to around 460,000 Australians with disability and their families. It will provide more choice and control over the support they receive.

Local parents have told me they are desperate for the NDIS – they want an assurance their adult child living with disability will be cared for and supported when they are too old to provide care or pass away.

The benefits of the NDIS go beyond the provision of care, support and services. It is an economic reform that is creating jobs and unlocking the productivity of people with disability and their carers.

The NDIS is already transforming the lives of people with disability for the better across Australia. It will be rolled out in Ipswich, the Somerset Region, Lockyer and Scenic Rim from July 2017.

There have been some challenges with the roll out nationally – IT problems, providers not getting paid, complaints about the way individual plans were being established, and major understaffing.

I know that everyone will have a different NDIS journey and face different challenges.

But I pledge to make sure the Government is held to account. Labor always promised to deliver the NDIS on time and on budget across Australia. This Government must make the roll out of the NDIS a greater priority to ensure it delivers what it originally promised.

In the meantime local people with disability can prepare for the NDIS: think about what you want out of life and what kind of supports you may need.

Grab a copy of the 2017 Blair Disabilities Links directory and chat to the many organisations and community groups providing a range of supports and opportunities in your local area.

Keep me informed of how your journey is going so I can advocate on your behalf.

For more information and to get your copy of the Blair Disabilities Link directory call my office on 3201 5300 or email me at [email protected].