Welcome to 2023! I hope you had a restful break over summer and are recharged and ready for what is shaping up to be a significant year. The NDIS Review, the final report of the Disability Royal Commission and the release of the 10-year ACT Disability Strategy all mean it will be busy locally and nationally.  

NDS’s annual State of the Disability Sector Report was launched late last year and, as always, provides fantastic insights into the health of the sector. The report shows that while optimism around the reform agenda has increased, the broader operating environment remains particularly difficult for providers. The full report can be downloaded from our website.    

The Policy and Advocacy Team have had a busy few months with several submissions being completed. These include those to the Joint Standing Committee’s review of NDIS Capability and Culture, the Employment White Paper, the Secure Jobs Better Pay legislation and the SDA Pricing Review. Our website has all the submissions for you to read.  

The ACT Government has opened three consultations of interest to the sector. The Senior Practitioner is running a public consultation on defining prohibited practices under the Act and has released a discussion paper, along with details of an online information session. You can raise any issues either through your own submission or by contributing to NDS’s. The Senior Practitioner has also released a draft Compliance and Enforcement Guideline for comment. Both consultations are open until 24 February.  

Following the Federal Parliament passing the Restoring Territory Rights bill last year, the ACT Government has confirmed that a consultation on ACT Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation will commence in early 2023. A detailed discussion paper will be released for the ACT community to comment on. More details are expected to be released soon.  

Employment will remain a key issue this year following the recent news that the Federal Government will be investigating the DES star rating system. This follows errors in the September results. NDS is working closely with DSS and will keep members to up to date.

Also on the employment front, following the Fair Work Commission’s decision last year, the SES Award will be formally varied from 30 June 2023. Guidance on the assessment process is being developed by DSS. NDS will give an update as soon as the information is released.  

Another key piece of legislation passed at the end of last year was the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill. This is a significant change to the industrial relations framework, and NDS will be hosting a webinar in the coming weeks to discuss what it means for providers. We encourage any providers who have an Enterprise Agreement to attend to fully understand the changes. Keep an eye out for the event notice.  

Our first ACT Disability Sector Forum for the year will be held on Thursday 23 March at the Hellenic Club. The forums are a great chance to catch up with colleagues and keep up with everything happening in the sector. You can register on the event page.  

I’m looking forward to working with all our members and the broader sector throughout the year. If you have any questions, concerns or issues to raise, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.