Disability advocates are mounting a second fight to stop changes to legislation that will reduce, and in some circumstances, cut off funding for transport for people with disability.
Vision Australia general manager for government relations and advocacy, Karen Knight said that the government’s plans to only extend transport funding to those who sign up to the NDIS, and abolish the Mobility Allowance by 2020, will impact people’s ability to participate in the workforce.
“The Mobility Allowance is a key support for people with disability, in particular, the blindness and low vision community. It helps people to pay for taxis to get to and from work, attend job interviews, and take up volunteering and study opportunities which can lead to future employment,” Ms Knight confirmed.
“The current value of the Mobility Allowance is approximately $3,400 per annum but under the NDIS participants will be allocated a capped taxi subsidy based upon their personal situation and goals. We’ve already noted that some NDIS participants are only receiving around half of the value of the existing allowance in their plans.”
The organisation has argued that once a person exhausts the transport allowance in their NDIS plan, they will need to find additional funding or alternative arrangements to pay for their transport costs.
“If the NDIA is suggesting that people top up their transport funds by using money from core supports, they are asking people to choose between essential services and essential travel. The proposed changes conflict with the central idea that no one will be worse off under the NDIS,” Ms Knight said.
Vision Australia, which has joined over 25 different disability groups to oppose the cuts, is also greatly concerned that under the new legislation, any person who chooses to opt out of the NDIS will permanently lose all funding for transport, and people over the age of 65 are not being accounted for.
“If a person changes their mind and chooses to opt out of the NDIS they will not be able to opt back into the current Mobility Allowance. They will lose it completely. And while the government wants people to stay at work longer, the NDIS is only available to people under the age of 65 so this legislation doesn’t support them to play a role in the employment market.”
In addition to receiving the Mobility Allowance, a person who is blind or has low vision is able to apply for a taxi subsidy from the government in the state or territory in which they live. States and territories are currently considering plans to direct funding for taxi subsidy schemes into the NDIS.
“The labour force participation rate for people with disability is 53 per cent, which is far lower than for the remainder of the population at 83 per cent. Any changes made at a state or territory level represent another barrier our community face in participating in employment-related activities and playing a valued role in the community.
“We are calling on all levels of government to take action and ensure people with disability are not penalised for non-optional costs such as transport,” Ms Knight concluded.
Further information:
- In November 2016, Vision Australia and other disability organisations lobbied Parliamentarians and Senators to encourage their opposition to the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Transition Mobility Allowance to the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Bill 2016.
- The Bill was temporarily put on hold but is being introduced in the Senate in the near future.
- An interview with Karen Knight about the potential impacts of the amended legislation is available here.
Media contact: Vanessa Sandhu, Senior Communications Advisor, 0418 937 327.