Submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (March 2021).

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) requires reform to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians with a disability.

Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) play a critical role in the disability sector. They provide person-centred nutrition care, contribute to integrated care, and train disability sector staff within the context of the NDIS.

As such, the recommended reforms aim to improve the nutrition care offered within the NDIS. These include:

• an urgent need to stop the rollout of the independent assessment program
• instead, re-evaluate this program and its impact on participants, funding, access and outcomes
• the consultation and involvement of APDs in determining NDIS eligibility
• adding nutrition risk screening to the assessment phase for NDIS access

At present, the Federal Government's planned changes to the NDIS don't consider food or nutrition. They fail to recognise the risk of malnutrition, and its detrimental impact on people. As a result, nutritionally-vulnerable Australians with a disability may be denied access to the NDIS. This would lead to unnecessary deaths and declining health amongst people with disabilities.

For more, download our full submission.