NDIS plans are vital in the support and funding provided to people living with a disability.
In remote communities, against a backdrop of little English and complex bureaucratic jargon, people’s plans often do not reflect what Anangu want or need, but what is often devised to be what is “best” for them.
NDIS plans are often written in language that is not comprehensible to Anangu and can refer to programs and services which are unavailable in the NPY Lands. Sometimes the goals are generic, and do not relate to the participant at all.
A twenty-year-old young woman with vision impairment, hearing impairment, an intellectual disability and mental health issues was given the NDIS goal of starting a small business. The young woman requires support and supervision to complete daily self-care and domestic tasks.
A large part of participants’ plans includes a goal of improving people’s communication skills because NDIS planners are unable to understand them. For example, a senior Anangu male’s NDIS plan includes a goal specifying improvement in communication that stated: “I will learn how to read and write and be confident in dealing with government and non-government agencies such as Centrelink and the bank.” This was not expressed by the participant but assumed by the NDIS planner and would require education, support and extensive travel to cities to undertake. The senior Anangu man in question spoke Pitjantjatjara, his native language, and the assumption that he needed to speak English overlooked the cultural appropriateness that should have been provided during assessment.
NPYWC has conducted extensive research to find out what makes a good life for Anangu living with a disability. They told us:
“We want to stay on the Lands with family, country and culture”
“We want practical everyday help such as meals, bedding and respite, and transport to events that are a part of community and cultural life.”
Because kinship is the central organising principle in the social life of Anangu, communities also need support plans that are inclusive of these family and kinship principles.
Anangu with disabilities may not always speak up about what they want and so need advocacy support so their NDIS plans do not minimise or overlook their experience, need for therapeutic programs, or alternative modes of healing.