The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) today announced a pilot which will use independent health professionals with experience in disability to undertake functional assessments, so that participants are able to access and use appropriate supports through the NDIS.

The NDIA will be piloting the use of independent health professionals who will use standardised tools that help determine the functional impact a person's disability has on their capacity to engage in the community, work place, and social activities.

Rick Morton

The flagship National Disability Insurance Scheme is on track to cost more than $33 billion by the end of the next decade after executives in charge of the rollout for the first time singled out children with “high-functioning autism, developmental delay and sensory disabilities” as one of the key challenges.

Rick Morton

An instructor in a “socially harmful cult” sold taxpayer-funded DVDs to parents that said autistic children could see spirits and illnesses from past lives, with the permission of the federal Department of Social Services, which was warned more than four years ago that the material was dangerous.

Yolanda Redrup

IT services company DXC Technology is making headway in plugging the tech skills gap by tapping into a talent pool often neglected by employers, hiring people on the autism spectrum.

Amanda Lyons

GP and autism advocate Dr James Best believes the guideline will prove helpful for patients, their families, and the GPs and other clinicians conducting assessments.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not uncommon in Australia, and diagnoses are on the rise – about 164,000 people across the country have ASD, a 79% increase* from 2009.

Donal Sheil

A young, autistic game developer has showcased his innovative new project at Australia's largest gaming convention, as part of an exhibit putting diversity centre-stage.

Inspired by his experiences living with autism, Bradley Hennessey's experimental game, An Aspie Life allows players to experience life with Asperger's.

In addition to entertainment, Mr Hennessey said the power of video games to enhance empathy with others is undervalued.

"Really, games can do anything," he said.

Four in five Australians believe banks don’t act ethically, the inaugural Deloitte Trust Index – Banking 2018 IPSOS poll (paywall) has found. The poll showed three in four Australians thought banks didn’t keep their promises to customers and found people from different political persuasions, classes and genders all had a similarly dim view of banking ethics.

Peter Sun San Wong

Just 16% of adults with autism are in full-time paid employment, and this situation is not improving. The Economist has described this as “a tragic toll, as millions of people live idle and isolated outside the world of work”.