Ending the education lottery: why the government must extend the NDIS to schools

Abstract

On being asked the question, "what do you think of disability support in Australia?", I would have to quote Gandhi's fabled response when he was asked what he thought of Western civilisation: "I think it would be a very good idea." While funding a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) seems a laudable attempt by the Labor Government to redress chronic inequality for a vulnerable group, an opportunity to link it to disability support in schools has been missed. The current situation for Australians with a disability was reported in the 2011 Productivity Commission report. The Commission identified a system that is "underfunded, unfair, fragmented and inefficient". Many Australians, I am sure, would be surprised to know that any group of citizens is so poorly treated. After all, this is a country with a fiscal balance the envy of virtually all developed economies, and a treasurer who was dubbed Finance Minister of the Year in 2011. Many questions could be asked as to why an equitable and fair system has not been in place before, but most likely it was presumed that it already existed. But it is now clear, after Wayne Swan's budget address, that $1 billion will be provided to the NDIS over the next four years.