“Most people don’t like a client group that tell you to get fucked”: Choice and control in Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme for formerly incarcerated people

Abstract

Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a substantial policy reform aiming to radically transform the design and delivery of disability services. Choice and control are key tenets of the scheme, however challenges and limitations exist with respect to inequities and difficulties posed by boundaries between the NDIS and mainstream services. People with disability who have been incarcerated are particularly at risk of experiencing these limitations. However there has been little academic exploration of these issues for this group. This paper explores whether NDIS services are readily accessible for people with disability who were formerly incarcerated, outlining some of the challenges this group encounters. The research is based on interviews with 28 stakeholders from government and non-government organisations that interact with and provide support or services to people with disability within the criminal justice system. Our findings confirm the importance of a functioning NDIS plan to help prevent some individuals encountering the criminal justice system, outlining several challenges that formerly incarcerated people with disability experience with the scheme. We conclude that ideas of choice and control are inhibited for some formerly incarcerated people with disability and highlight actions that can be taken regarding specialist support coordination, advocacy services and market stewardship to address these issues.

Accounting and neoliberal responsibilisation: a case study on the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme

“…, 2022), the quality of the services offered (Hall and Brabazon, 2020), the skills and abilities of care workers in remote regions (Cuskelly, 2022; Hummell et al. , 2023), the potential exploitation of both individuals with disabilities and support workers (Dickinson et al. , 2024) and the inherent complexities that disadvantage certain groups of participants (Dickinson and Yates, 2023).…”

“…Disability scholars have explored numerous issues stemming from the marketisation of disability services. These issues span the effects the NDIS has had on service providers (Hamin et al, 2022), the quality of the services offered (Hall and Brabazon, 2020), the skills and abilities of care workers in remote regions (Cuskelly, 2022;Hummell et al, 2023), the potential exploitation of both individuals with disabilities and support workers (Dickinson et al, 2024) and the inherent complexities that disadvantage certain groups of participants (Dickinson and Yates, 2023). As Van Toorn (2022) explains, marketising disability services may force service providers to innovate but they must also prioritise efficiency, cost-cutting and measuring outcomes to compete.…”

“…Additionally, those unable to advocate for themselves, articulate their needs clearly and those who reside in remote areas (Cortese et al. , 2021) or have complex support needs and are involved with the criminal justice system (Spivakovsky, 2021; Dickinson et al. , 2024) often find themselves less satisfied with the NDIS.…”

“…Specific groups have expressed dissatisfaction with the scheme, including women with disabilities (Yates et al, 2021), First Nation individuals (Smith-Merry et al, 2023), those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities (Malbon et al, 2019;, people with intellectual disabilities (Bigby, 2020) and those with psychosocial disabilities (Mellifont et al, 2022). Additionally, those unable to advocate for themselves, articulate their needs clearly and those who reside in remote areas (Cortese et al, 2021) or have complex support needs and are involved with the criminal justice system (Spivakovsky, 2021;Dickinson et al, 2024) often find themselves less satisfied with the NDIS. For Mina, the challenges largely stemmed from the complexity of navigating the system.…”