The NDIA supporting people with disability to make their own decisions

The NDIA has developed a policy to assist people to understand what supported decision making is, and how we can better support people with disability to make decisions in the NDIS.

Supported decision making is where someone provides support to a person with disability, helping them build their skills and knowledge, to allow them to make decisions for themselves and remain in control of their own lives.

The support person is also referred to as a ‘decision supporter’.  A person with disability can ask any person they would like to be their ‘decision supporter’ and it can be more than one person.

Inclusion Australia Policy Officer, Luke Nelson worked with the NDIA around co-design for the supported decision-making project. Luke’s role involved speaking people, reading a lot about policy, attending presentations, and talking about supported decision making.

Luke says, “this policy will give people the chance to know that supported decision making is a real thing, that it can be delivered, and the NDIA is willing to work with people with disabilities to make them feel included”. Luke lives with Cerebral Palsy and says: “It’s so important for people with disabilities to have their own decisions. It’s a human right to make decisions because it’s their life. It’s their choice”.

“What I have learnt so far that it’s such an important part of people’s lives to be able to learn that you can make decisions with support and having the right people around you to make decisions”

Luke Nelson, Inclusion Australia Policy Officer.

The key points the policy will cover, include:

• the role the NDIA and NDIS plays in supporting people with disability to make their own decisions
• how the NDIA can help people with disability understand their rights to make decisions and support them to make their decision making
• build the skill and knowledge of the ‘decision supporters’ so they are able to recognise and ensure the participant is considered in decision making
• explain the role of nominees, guardians, family members and others, and how they can support people with disability to make decisions about the NDIS.

The goals of the policy include:

• making the NDIS simpler and easier to use
• providing additional supports to meet the needs of participants with complex communication needs
• having a clear position on consent and on conflict of interest and the independence required when interacting with participants.

The implementation of the plan will include developing resources that are easy to read and understand for participants, improve and promote the supported decision making as a person is transitioning from childhood to adulthood, working in the community to promote supported decision making, empowering participants when it comes to making decisions to access independent decision making resources, and understand a participants need for supported decision making and connect them with the supports the require.

For more information about the NDIA’s Supporters decision making policy visit the NDIS Supported decision making policy webpage for more information.

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Contact the Guardian Support Unit on 1300 361 389 or pg.engagement@opg.nsw.gov.au.

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