What is the new NDIS Reform Advisory Committee?

The announcement of appointments to the NDIS Reform Advisory Committee (RAC) got a bit buried last week, after Minister Mark Butler used the same day to reveal the formation of the new Thriving Kids program and an overhaul of supports for children (FMI- Breaking: Minister announces new early intervention program).

But the Committee is positioned to play a big role in all future NDIS reforms (indeed, that’s the job description). So we thought we’d take a quick look at what the Committee is, what they’ll be doing and who the members are.

What is the NDIS RAC?

The NDIS RAC will advise on the implementation of the recommendations of the NDIS Review and Disability Royal Commission (DRC). It will provide this advice to:

The Disability Reform Ministerial Council- which consists of the disability Ministers from each State and Territory and the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Disability Minister.

It differs from the NDIA’s Independent Advisory Council (IAC), which provides advice to the NDIA’s Board. But if you get your RACs and your IACs mixed up, nobody will blame you- there are a lot of councils and committees out there.

The NDIS RAC will:

Advise on how the implementation of NDIS reforms is progressing against the response to the NDIS Review and the Implementation Roadmap. Governments haven’t responded to the recommendations of the NDIS Review yet (though I say let’s not rush them- they’ve only had the report for 1.5 years), and the Implementation Roadmap can only be developed after the response. So in the meantime, the NDIS RAC will focus on the reforms already agreed upon by National Cabinet.
Advise on how to engage people with lived experience.
Advise on how NDIS reforms are being implemented, including the ‘process, timing, community views and policy substance.’
Ensure diverse voices of people with disability are heard.

The NDIS RAC will report to the Disability Reform Ministerial Council at least every six months. The Minister’s Council will then ‘consider’ whether they make this advice public (which is the most government-y commitment I’ve ever heard).

Who is on the NDIS RAC?

The structure of the NDIS RAC includes:

2 co-chairs selected by the Commonwealth Minister.
8 State and Territory members nominated by the State and Territory Disability Ministers.
3 members selected through an expression of interest open to the public.

The Committee needed to include at least two carers of people with disability, a First Nations person with disability or carer, someone with experience with disability in regional and remote areas, someone with experience in service provision and collectively represent ‘people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, LGBTIQA+, young people, and women.’ Honestly, for a 13-member committee, it can’t have been easy to tick all those boxes.

The government announced early this year that El Gibbs and Dougie Herd will co-chair the NDIS RAC. Both are well known in the disability community, with El being the former CEO of the Disability Advocacy Network Australia and Dougie a member of the NDIS Review Panel.

The rest of the Committee was announced last Wednesday, including:

New South Wales representative - Jeramy Hope 
Queensland representative - Nigel Webb 
Western Australia representative - Carrie Clark 
Tasmania representative - Clare Waiss 
Victoria representative - Catherine McAlpine 
Australian Capital Territory representative - Renee Heaton 
South Australia representative - Katharine Annear 
Northern Territory representative - Annie Rily 
Community representative - Kelly Treloar 
Community representative - Elvis Martin 
Community representative - Sebastian Langdon-Macmillan.

How long will the NDIS RAC run for?

The Committee will run for 5 years. But appointments are only for 2.5 years, so are subject to change.

What next for the NDIS RAC?

Don’t know! The NDIS RAC needs to develop a work plan for the Minister to approve within 4 weeks of their appointment.

My crystal ball tells me there’s going to be more community consultations in our future!