NDIS reviewers may soon lay out measures to control spending growth. 

Reviewers of the $42 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are expected to recommend a more rigorous and personalised approach to assess participants' needs, in order to reduce spending growth and address the program's perceived complexity and unfairness. 

Bruce Bonyhady and Lisa Paul, the reviewers, stress that these changes do not signify a return to the previously discarded ‘independent assessments’.

In a recent podcast interview, Professor Bonyhady suggested allowing participants several hours to provide comprehensive information in a location of their choice, such as their home, to qualified NDIA assessors. 

He said that this process is an investment to ensure the scheme's sustainability and fairness.

The independent assessment approach, initiated by the Morrison government in 2021 to prevent system manipulation, faced criticism and was halted by the previous government due to its impersonal and rule-bound nature. 

Professor Bonyhady clarified that the proposed process is comprehensive, involves well-trained assessors, and allows adequate time for assessment, making it distinct from the earlier independent assessments.

As NDIS Minister, Bill Shorten says he aims to cap budget growth at 8 per cent to address the scheme's potential cost exceeding $100 billion by 2030. 

The NDIS review has been submitted to the government and will be discussed at a national cabinet meeting in December.

Bonyhady and Paul have previously described the NDIS as an “oasis in the desert” for people with disabilities, but one that has created stress and exhaustion for participants. 

They propose a new assessment approach linked to broader community-wide education and health support to reduce reliance on costly individualised NDIS plans.