Media Coverage

16 May 2013, Judith Ireland, Brisbane Times
Disability funding laws speed through Parliament
Legislation to fund DisabilityCare Australia has passed Federal Parliament.

15 May 2013, Paul Osborne, The Sydney Morning Herald
Tearful Gillard brings in disability bill
Sandi and Sophie may not be household names but their hopes and dreams have reduced a prime minister to tears. Julia Gillard on Wednesday introduced to parliament a bill to hike the Medicare levy to pay for the new national disability insurance scheme.

15 May 2013, Sue Dunlevy, The Daily Telegraph
DisabilityCare taps a new life for 460,000 Aussies
Nearly half a million Australians will each get an average of about $48,000 a year in disability care and support under the new DisabilityCare scheme - once it becomes fully operational in 2019.

14 May 2013, Nine News
Govt opens heart and wallet for disabled
Labor's signature national disability care program will get $14.3 billion in new money to ensure it will be fully up and running on time.

13 May 2013, ABC Online
Barnett under pressure to sign up to DisabilityCare
Western Australia's Opposition has urged the state's premier to stop playing politics and sign up to the national disability insurance scheme.

11 May 2013, ABC Online
NT signs up to DisabilityCare
The Northern Territory has become the latest government to sign up to the national disability insurance scheme.

8 May 2013, AAP, The Australian
Queensland signs up for national disability care scheme
Queensland is the latest state to sign up to the national disability insurance scheme, ensuring there is now coverage for about 90 per cent of Australians with disabilities.

7 May 2013, Bendigo Advertiser
Out with the old, in with the new support services
Victoria's peak body for non-government disability providers, National Disability Services, welcomes the announcement by the Victorian government that it will close Sandhurst Residential Services.

7 May 2013, Pia Akerman, The Australian
Plea for 457s to ease lack of disability staff
Disability services providers have called for consideration of 457 visas to avoid "chronic" labour shortages as the national disability insurance scheme expands and increases pressure on the sector's workforce.

6 May 2013, ABC Online
Vic Govt urged to explore disability housing options
Australia's peak body for disability services is calling on the Victorian Government to think creatively about new housing for people with intellectual disabilities in Bendigo.

5 May 2013, James Taylor, Surf Coast Times
More help to set up disability scheme trial
Preparations for the DisabilityCare Australia trial in the Barwon region continue to ramp up, with organisations in the region getting extra help to prepare.

4 May 2013, Patrick Caruana, Sydney Morning Herald
Victoria on board for disability care plan
The national disability care scheme is a step closer with Victoria agreeing to a full rollout of the plan.

3 May 2013, Steven Scott, Courier Mail
Premier Campbell Newman ready to sign on for federal National Disability Insurance Scheme
Queensland could sign up to the National Disability Insurance Scheme as soon as next week, ahead of the likely passage of laws to hike the Medicare levy.

3 May 2013, Alison Andrews, Tasmania Examiner
Disability funding welcomed
Tasmania's disability sector will need to undergo significant reform to prepare for a new style of funds delivery under the new national scheme, according to National Disability Services state manager David Clements.

2 May 2013, ABC, PM with Mark Colvin
Abbott supports NDIS levy, with conditions
The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has offered conditional support for increasing the Medicare levy, prompting the Prime Minister Julia Gillard to bring that legislation forward.

2 May 2013, ABC News
Tasmania signs on to disability scheme
Tasmania has become the fourth state to sign up to the full rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

2 May 2013, AM with Tony Eastley, ABC Online
Abbott to announce NDIS funding position

1 May 2013, Jessica Marszalek, The Advertiser
Medicare levy hike to fund NDIS will be backed by Australians, say disability advocates
Australians will accept the hip pocket pain of a Medicare levy hike to help those less fortunate and build themselves a safety net in case of misfortune, disability advocates believe.

1 May 2013, Jessica Marszalek, Herald Sun
Premier Denis Napthine is cautious on NDIS plan but advocates are confident
Premier Denis Napthine said Victoria wanted a "fair and reasonable" way to pay for the NDIS, and the Medicare levy rise was a big switch by the Labor Government.

1 May 2013, Richard Willingham, Jonathan Swan, Dan Harrison, Sydney Morning Herald
PM's challenge to Abbott on disability scheme
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has put an ultimatum to Tony Abbott that will decide the immediate future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

30 April 2013, Phillip Coorey, The Australian Financial Review
Medicare rise to fund disability scheme
The federal government has settled on a $3.2 billion, 0.5 percentage point increase to the Medicare levy to help fund its National Disability Insurance Scheme and is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday.

30 April 2013, Sue Dunlevy, The Advertiser
Disability Support Pension to be targeted by Federal Government
A crackdown on the $14 billion dollar a year disability support pension is being considered as the Government battles to fill its budget black hole.

29 April 2013, Digital Journal
Advertising Campaign Launched to Fill 30,000 New Jobs In NSW By 2018
It is estimated that the growth in the NSW disability sector will create in excess of 30,000 new jobs by 2018.

19 April 2013, Lisa Martin, Herald Sun
Disability and anti-gang progress at COAG
State and territory leaders have agreed to co-operate more closely in fighting gang violence and crime and work towards a national scheme to support the care of disabled people.

19 April 2013, Ross Peake, Canberra Times
ACT to roll out Disabilty Insurance Scheme first
The ACT has signed an agreement on Friday that will lead to the full implementation of the national disability insurance scheme in the territory first.

18 April 2013, Lauren Novak, The Australian
National Disability Insurance Scheme starts in South Australia from 2018
The National Disability Insurance Scheme will be available to all South Australians with a disability from 2018.

21 March 2013, AAP, The Australian
NDIS bill passes parliament
Legislation setting up the National Disability Insurance Scheme has cleared its final parliamentary hurdle.

20 March 2013, Estelle Fyffe, The Age
Name change could undermine important reforms
Changing the name of the NDIS to DisabilityCare sends the wrong message about the scheme's intent.

10 April 2013, Nine News
Disability support workforce must double
Efforts to attract people to the disability support workforce need to be ramped up ahead of the full rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, says services chief Ken Baker.

18 March 2013, Michael Gordon, The Sydney Morning Herald
Insurance scheme renamed DisabilityCare
The national disability insurance scheme will be given the name DisabilityCare Australia on Monday, before legislation to establish the scheme passes through Parliament.

14 March 2013, ABC News
House of Reps passes NDIS bill
The House of Representatives has passed legislation to set up the Government's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

6 March 2013, Joe Kelly, The Australian
Government announces National Disability Insurance Scheme guidelines
The Government has released a series of draft "rules" informing people how to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme and what level of support can be provided to them.

21 February 2013, Stephanie Peatling, Sydney Morning Herald
Government promises disabled will keep their pension
People with disabilities will still receive the pension once the national disability insurance scheme begins, the federal government has promised.

20 February 2013, AAP, The West Australia
McGowan would join NDIS trial
WA Opposition leader Mark McGowan says he'd sign up to a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) trial in a heartbeat, unlike the State's current "downright obstructionist" leader.

19 February 2013, Patricia Karvelas, The Australian
Important issue falling between a major gap in disability and aged care reform
More than 80 per cent of Australians think the age ceiling of 65 to be covered by the national disability insurance scheme is unfair.

13 December 2012, Koren Helbig, The Courier-Mail
Campbell Newman caves to pressure and doubles National Disability Insurance Scheme spending
Queensland will double its disability spending in the next six years but that is not enough to convince the Federal Government the state is locked into the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

6 December 2012, Sue Dunlevy, Herald Sun
Federal and NSW governments agree to funding for National Disability Insurance Scheme
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has struck a deal with NSW that will see both governments spend $6 billion to fund the full National Disability Insurance Scheme in the state from 2018.

29 November 2012, Jonathan Swan, The Age
Gillard introduces NDIS bill
Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced the bill for the National Disability Insurance Scheme into Parliament this morning, but the dispute over who pays will be settled next year.

21 November 2012, Fleur Anderson, Kate Walsh and Greg Earl, The Australian Financial Review
PM, Abbott slam door on GST changes
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott ruled out increasing or broadening the goods and services tax despite signals from the welfare lobby it is willing to consider raising the GST if there are other concessions.

21 November 2012, Kate Walsh, The Australian Financial Review
ACOSS calls for wider review of system [subscription required to read]
The peak body for community services and the welfare sector has called for a wider debate about the tax system but has not ruled out supporting a review of the GST.

15 November 2012, Rachel Browne, WA Today
Disability scheme architect rejects cost blowout claim
A key architect of the National Disability Insurance Scheme has dismissed as fear-mongering new analysis describing the program as the "new leviathan of the Australian welfare state" that will cost $7 billion more than expected.

31 October 2012, Lanai Vasek, The Australian
NDIS bill to reach parliament in weeks
The Gillard government's National Disability Insurance Scheme will be introduced to parliament next month.

25 October 2012, Nine News
NSW MPs call on federal govt to fund NDIS
At the first of more than 1700 nationwide DisabiliTEA events, the MPs joined with National Disabilities Service chief Patrick Maher in calling on the federal government to commit funding to the scheme.

22 October 2012, Herald Sun
Every Aussie Counts: campaign to help people with disabilities
People with a disability who are getting just two showers a week and who face a two-year wait for a wheelchair are appealing for major financial assistance.

21 October 2012, Andy Burns, Courier Mail
Tea party special for MasterChef Julia Taylor
Masterchef 2012 runner-up Julia Taylor, 27, and sister Katie Steffens, 24, love getting in the kitchen and cooking together. Now they have teamed up to help shine a light on the importance of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, with the Every Australian Counts National DisabiliTEA Day on Friday.

4 October 2012, Julia Gillard, The Mercury
Disablity care to be proud of
People with disability have waited decades for a proper system of care and support.

21 September 2012, AAP, The Australian
Demand for disability aid increases
The use of disability services across Australia has risen 45 per cent during the past five years, indicating growing pressure on the system, a new report says.

6 September 2012, David Penberthy, News.com.au
Our Forgotten Aussies: A direct plea from families living with disability to our politicians
Today, news.com.au launches a storyboard written by the families of people with disabilities urging our politicians to unite behind the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

29 August 2012, Alan Mitchell, Financial Review
Can we afford national disability insurance?

27 August 2012, John Kehoe, Financial Review
NDIS: let's give the disabled a fair go
It's time our politicians mustered up the courage to deliver the necessary funding for a National Disability Insurance Scheme.

20 August 2012, Milanda Rout, The Australian
PM promises savings for NDIS
Julia Gillard says her government will have to make "substantial savings" to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme and ensure the budget surplus is not placed at risk.

13 August 2012, Tom Arup, The Age
Parties agree on Barwon trial
Carers are celebrating after the federal and state governments put weeks of wrangling over funding behind them and struck a deal for a Victoria trial of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

1 August 2012, Imre Salusinszky, The Australian
NSW to trial National Disability Insurance Scheme
Govt, NSW reach deal on NDIS trial Federal Labor and the NSW Coalition government have resolved their differences over a launch site for a National Disability Insurance Scheme.

27 July 2012, Patricia Karvelas and Pia Akerman, The Australian
Breakthrough gives Julia Gillard a win on National Disability Insurance Scheme
Victoria and New South Wales have bowed to federal pressure with fresh offers of funding to help host trials of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

27 July 2012, The Mercury, David Killick
Insurance plan relief for 950
Disability groups have greeted with delight the news that Tasmania will be among the first states to trial the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

26 July 2012, ABC News, Naomi Woodley
Disability advocate calls for political truce
Australia's top disability advocate has called for the political games to stop over the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

26 July 2012, Herald Sun, Phillip Hudson and AAP
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says politics should not stop National Disability Insurance Scheme
PM Julia Gillard has urged Liberal premiers to "do the right thing" and find extra money for a national disability insurance scheme.

26 July 2012, Sydney Morning Herald, Jessica Wright, Phillip Coorey, Thomas Arup
Disability issue 'breaking our nation's heart'
The Prime Minister has launched a scathing attack on Liberal state governments for playing "cheap politics" in a media blitz this morning as federal Labor tries to break the standoff on disability reforms

26 July 2012, Sue Dunlevy, The Australian
Only 11,000 to test grand disability plan
About 11,000 Australians with a disability in South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT will try out a new personalised disability care system but the future of the $15 billion scheme is in doubt after the larger states did not sign up to the trials at yesterday's Council of Australian Governments meeting.

25 July 2012, AAP, The Australian
NDIS to be launched in two states and ACT
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the Federal Government has reached an agreement with two Labor states and one territory to launch the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

16 July 2012, Matthew Grimson, ABC News
Gillard pledges extra $1bn for social workers
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has addressed the NSW Labor Party conference, promising an additional $1 billion to fund a pay rise for workers in the community and social service sector.

10 July 2012, Stephanie Quine, Lawyers Weekly
New ALA president puts NDIS on top
The new president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Anthony Kerin, has made the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) the top priority for the organisation over the next 12 months.

6 July 2012, Dan Harrison, The Age
PM announces head of NDIS launch
The Gillard government has appointed lawyer and consultant David Bowen to coordinate the launch of a National Disability Insurance Scheme.