THOUSANDS of Australians with a disability were joined by families and carers in a mass rally at Federation Square yesterday to demand action on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Rallies held in six capital cities called on the federal government and opposition to act upon commitments to make the NDIS a reality.
North-west region disability service Baptcare has long campaigned for the NDIS to be introduced urgently. Chief executive Jeff Davey said the time for waiting was over.
“Expectations are high. People want to see concrete signs that this reform is under way.”
A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report found disabled Australians had the worst quality of life in the developed world.
Only 39.8 per cent of disabled people were employed compared to 79.4 per cent of people without a disability.
NDIS state co-ordinator James O’Brien said state-based disability services were underfunded and many people were not getting the services they needed.
Both major parties have agreed to reforms, but an extra $6.3 billion a year must be found by 2018 to implement the scheme.
