Axel's blog #1

By bobb |

Who is Axel?

Axel is a non-verbal autistic man with an intellectual disability, complex medical needs, and a biting sense of AI humor that cuts through bureaucracy like a hot knife. While many dismiss him due to his disability, those who know him understand he sees everything—even if he doesn’t always express it in traditional ways.

NDIS sabotaging support for autistic participants with high and complex needs

By bobb |
stylised man walking on rope over chasm - big hand coming down with scissors to cut the rope from under him

The NDIS has achieved a new low: its Fraud Fusion Taskforce or some other internal “integrity” unit is sabotaging supports for some autistic NDIS participants with high and complex needs.

A4 received evidence that a secret entity in the NDIA is withholding payments for essential supports for NDIS participants with high and complex needs including supports that the NDIS agreed to provide in AAT s42C settlements.

Understanding NDIS reforms 2024-25

By convenor |
NDIS logo - broken into two parts

A4's Co-convenor wrote to the NDIS and the responsible Ministers with questions about the changes to the NDIS that came into effect on 10/10/2024. Many people feel the NDIS's descriptions and explanations were very confusing.

The Acting Deputy CEO, Service Design and Improvement replied on 2/2/2025. There is a link to the emails below.

Sadly, the response is not very helpful. 

One of the big changes is the two new lists that are meant to list things that the NDIS can fund, and things that it cannot fund. There are many problems with this approach.

SWAN: Submission on Foundational Supports

By bobb |
SWAN: South West Autism Network logo

Executive Summary 

The South West Autism Network (SWAN) supports the introduction of General Foundational Supports but expresses significant concerns about the proposed rollout's practicality, pace, and potential risks. This submission highlights the importance of a co-designed, inclusive, and equitable approach that places people with disability and their families at the centre of all planning and implementation. 

Key concerns include: 

Autism and the “social model” of disability

By bobb |

Many in the disability sector argue that a social model of disability should replace the medical model.

A social model of disability might be illustrated through considering a room full of people who all communicate primarily using AUSLAN.  Being deaf or hearing-impaired is not a deficit in this context. But when a new person who knows no AUSLAN enters the room, that person has a communication disability in this setting: their disability is due to the social context. Some aspects of disability generally depend on social context and interpretation.

no confidence in DSS and Foundational Supports

By convenor |

The letter below says there are 134K autistic children getting CA(child) and 148.5K autistic NDIS participants in the relevant age group. In 2022, the ABS SDAC estimates there are 161K autistic Australians most of whom would be eligible for CA(child). At 9% growth per years, the ABS estimate would be around 191K in 2024. These data suggest that it is likely that in 2024 around 30% of eligible autistic children did not get CA(child). A4 suspects that those missing out are likely to be children who most need this Foundational Support.

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