Labor has vowed to reform the National Disability Insurance Scheme and return the program to its "original objective", with changes including lifting staffing caps.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Labor's NDIS spokesman Bill Shorten on Tuesday announced the party would pursue the overhaul if it won government in the May election, promising to "defend" the scheme.
Labor would lift the cap on staff numbers at the agency running the NDIS, the National Disability Insurance Agency, reducing labour-hire arrangements and increasing the number of permanent public servants.
The opposition also promised to review what it called the excessive use of external lawyers, and to assess the value for money of consultancy contracts for the NDIS.
It would introduce an expert review guaranteeing plans will not be arbitrarily cut, and would streamline planning and improve access to the scheme for people in regional areas, Labor said.
"Dealing with the NDIS should not be like having a second full-time job. We will return the NDIS to its original objective, because at the moment, even if you get a good plan, there's a constant fear it will be cut when it gets reviewed," Mr Albanese and Mr Shorten said in a joint statement.
"Labor wants to stop people with disability and their families feeling like they are trapped in a maze of reviews, appeals and legal action."
READ MORE:
Mr Shorten told media Labor would not have to spend more on the NDIS.
"The money's there, we don't see the need to spend an extra dollar in terms of what's already been allocated," he said.
"What we will do is we're going to take the carpetbagging consultants out of the scheme.
"We'll crack down on a few of the cowboys in the unregistered area who are overcharging and under-servicing people with disability.
"So we think we can save some dollars."
Marginal electorates are being targeted in a campaign demanding the major parties commit to shielding NDIS participants from shock funding cuts.
The campaign will lean on research published last year which highlighted the economic benefits of investing in the NDIS.