Autism Aspergers Advocacy Australia

 Lanie Tindale

There is never a dull moment in the Sugars-Daniel's "neurodivergent house", mum Rhi Sugars laughs.

But the struggle many Canberrans have in getting themselves or their child an autism or attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) diagnosis is no laughing matter, she says.

The mother-of-two lives in Lake Bathurst and works in Queanbeyan.

Sarah Basford Canales and Stephanie Convery

Chair of Actuaries Institute committee says money could go towards establishing early intervention programs for those with developmental delays

Anne Connolly

The head of the government watchdog for the NDIS, Tracy Mackey, swore and said she might have to resign after she discovered she had mistakenly told the ABC the regulator had shut down a program where children with disabilities were abused, court documents allege.

Laura Tingle

The scheme was overwhelmed by autism cases with nowhere else to go. Creating new services for them is one of the pointiest issues in the review.

One in five children in Australia have disability or developmental concerns, according to the Australian Early Development Census.

Michael Read

Federal and state governments may have to find $3.7 billion a year to support people with mild autism and less severe disabilities outside the NDIS, but Disability Minister Bill Shorten says he is confident his overhaul of the scheme will save taxpayers money.

Phillip Coorey and Michael Read

The states and the Commonwealth will tip in $10 billion between them to establish a new scheme to treat children with mild autism and early developmental disorders, after the review into the NDIS said it must be reserved for those with significant and permanent disabilities.

The proportion of young children (age 0 to 6 years) diagnosed with autism in the NDIS has declined significantly since the full roll-out of the NDIS. The following chart shows the proportion of children in the NDIS with different types of "primary disability" according to data published by the NDIS on their website. 

Stephen Lunn and Sarah Ison

The NDIS Review final report is available from https://www.ndisreview.gov.au/resources/reports/working-together-deliver-ndis

It's a 338 page report. There is an infographic that might be a good introduction or summary ... for those who find those accessible.

An Easy Read version is also available.