National NDIS Review Conference
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn as part of Devinder’s NDIS Business Advisory Series, feel free to reach out to me for further engagement at dev@for-purpose.com.au.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (#NDIS) COAG Report for the first quarter of 2022-23 presents an overview of the current status of NDIS participants and providers, and I have provided my insights for Western Australia data as of September 30, 2022. The report provides key statistics on the number of active participants and providers, utilisation rates, plan budgets, inflation rates, and socioeconomic equity. Overall, the data shows a mixed picture of the Western Australian NDIS landscape, with some positive trends, such as an increase in the number of active providers, but also some areas for improvement, such as a decrease in utilisation rates and a decline in socioeconomic equity.
NDIS Participants
As of September 30, 2022, there was an increase in the number of active #NDISparticipants with approved plans, from 46,475 to 47,936. This indicates a positive trend in the number of individuals who are able to access the services provided by the NDIS. Additionally, there was an increase in the number of children accessing early connections, from 827 to 846. This suggests that more children are being provided with the necessary support and services to meet their developmental needs.
On the other hand, there was a decrease in the number of children waiting for early connections, from 30 to 16. This can be seen as a positive outcome, as it indicates that more children are receiving support in a timely manner. The percentage of participants fully or partially self-managing their plan remained stable at 31%, which suggests that there is a consistent level of autonomy among participants. Additionally, the percentage of plans activated within 90 days remained stable at 86%, indicating a high level of efficiency in the activation process.
However, there was a decrease in the number of participant plan reassessments completed, from 9,491 to 8,868. This could indicate a decrease in the number of individuals who are receiving regular evaluations of their support needs. Overall, the statistics suggest that while there are positive trends in some areas, such as the number of children accessing early connections, there may be room for improvement in other areas, such as participant plan reassessments.
NDIS Providers
There is an overall increase in the number of active #NDISproviders, from 2,555 as at 30 June 2022 to 2,733 as at 30 September 2022. Additionally, the number of active providers in the last quarter also increased, from 1,154 to 1,207. This indicates a positive trend in the number of providers who are able to support Agency-managed participants. However, utilisation, measured as a 6-month rolling average with a 3-month lag, decreased from 73% to 71% during this period.
Additionally, the proportion of service districts that are more than 10 percentage points below the benchmark increased from 8% to 17%. This suggests that there are areas where the utilisation of services is lower than the national average. The market concentration, measured by the proportion of service districts where more than 85% of payments for supports go to the top 10 providers, remained stable at 25%.
On the financial side, the proportion of payments paid within 5 days through the portal increased from 99.7% to 99.8%, indicating a high level of efficiency in the payment process. The total payments from July 1, 2022 were $667 million as at September 30, 2022. The total annualised plan budgets increased from $3,281 million to $3,626 million during this period.
However, plan inflation, measured as the percentage per annum, increased from 16.2% in June 2022 quarter to 24.9% in September 2022 quarter. This can be seen as a negative trend, as it indicates that the cost of plans is increasing at a higher rate. Additionally, Inflation at plan reassessment increased from 10.1% to 15.4%. Inflation within a plan, between reassessments increased from 6.1% to 9.5%.
Finally, the socioeconomic equity decreased from 112% in June 2022 quarter to 107% in September 2022 quarter. This can be seen as negative trend, as it indicates that the support provided for people in lower socioeconomic status is less compared to the support provided for people in higher socioeconomic status