The Rebuttal

I was described as a Minion today. I was quite flattered. The Minions I know, and probably you too, are cute and cuddly. They are from the movie Despicable Me. They are funny and busy and they do all that they can to please people. Perhaps they are a little bumbling sometimes, but there are worse things to be compared to I guess.

In recent times I have begun to feel very much like an NDIS Minion. I don’t work for the NDIS any more. I have not for quite some time. But I can’t seem to get away from the NDIS. You see, for better or for worse, I have a reputation of assisting people to get better plans when the NDIS mucks them up. Of late, this has been very frequently.

I even got mention on a Facebook post. An orgnaisation was offering parents of Deaf children support to review their plans. They suggested that I might be a good person to assist them too, and tagged me to the post. I guess that’s what being a Minion is. You’re always available to help and support. I do this voluntarily by the way. It helps me dissipate my anger at the monumental cock ups that the NDIS make.

I am not sure what is happening over in NDIS land but its very dire. My wife finally got around to applying for the NDIS last year. This is ironic really. Here is me, so called NDIS guru, and my wife and I have never applied for it ourselves. I think I’m avoiding it cos I reckon the process will make me blow a gasket. I mean my poor wife applied last September and her plan was only approved last week, mid July 2024. Of course, being Deaf, the NDIS rang her numerous times, as they do. Delaying the process even more.

And what a shocker of a plan it was. I mean here is my wife, an Auslan user. She uses Auslan to participate in many community things. Later this year our son and his partner are getting married. Interpreters needed for speeches and to mingle . The NDIS was gonna help with this we thought. But do you know how much interpreting funding she got? Even after detailing all the things she needed it for; the wedding, social gatherings, the private allied health appointments she was likely to attend etc …. Her interpreting funds were zilch, nada, nothing!!!

She got six grand all up. Of which two grand is to pay for a plan manager. Three grand something to pay for OT assessments. A whopping total of $300 to pay for low cost technology. I’m not sure what she will get for $300. Maybe she can enter some sort of lucky dip.

And so she joined the ever growing list of people I am now assisting to review their plans. Currently the list stands at four. The cock ups that the NDIS make are just mind boggling. I honestly wonder where they find some of their planners, so ignorant do they seem to be.

The current trend of planners is to reduce Auslan interpreting over time. You see, Deaf people use Auslan interpreters, supposedly, to build capacity to communicate. Apparently, after a certain amount of time Deaf people will develop skills to be able to communicate without interpreters. Supposedly, they develop super powers for lipreading. Or perhaps they begin to utilise post it notes to write and receive messages, as one planner suggested to a participant a few years back.

I am not quite sure what is going on in the head of planners but it seems that you start with a set amount of interpreter hours, in the second year you half it and by the third year it is one hour a week until its not needed anymore. You might think that I am being absurd, but no, this is actually happening.

The other trend, and perhaps this happened with my wife, is that if you have a cochlear implant or you speak really well, then no form of communication assistance is needed. You can speak well and therefore you can communicate anywhere and any time. Presumably, you do all the talking so that you do not have to waste your time understanding what others might be saying. I dunno! This is an insight into the working mind of some of the planners that are currently employed by the NDIS.

And this morning I woke up to a post about a family of a Deaf child. They apparently had $17000 over two years. At review this was reduced to, wait for it, $600 for the next two years. For what? I am not sure. I am not sure I want to know. They asked for Auslan for the family and Auslan interpreting for when the daughter might need it – All of this will be covered with $600, over two years or $300 year. The person that made the post said that their blood was boiling. Me? I just want to weep.

And Bill Shorten, bless him, is carrying on about how fraud is costing the NDIS so much money. He is making a song and dance about banning Sex assistance for people with a disability that need it. Meanwhile, the planners in the NDIS are dishing out shit like I have just described. Reviews go in, administrative time is eaten up processing them, legal fees are paid etc etc etc. If Mr Shorten wants to save some money, he might want to look a little bit closer to home. These pathetic excuses for NDIS plans are costing the NDIS millions!

If you will excuse me, I will get back to being the weekend NDIS Minion. I have four people including my wife to assist. I have to process the complaints, inform them how to gather evidence for their reviews, help them write the reviews and even help them respond to questions that come back from the NDIS. Often times, because LACs are not doing their jobs, I am also explaining how a plan works and contacting LACs to remind them to activate plans so that the paltry amount that has been approved can be used.

It’s the weekend, Ill get back to it, enjoy your weekend all! Poopaye! (Which is Minion for goodbye! )