Disability Support Programs Expand to Regional WA, Boosting NDIS Access

Disability support programs are being expanded to regional Western Australia to improve access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in country areas.

Program Details

This initiative, part of the state and federal government's Joint Work Program to enhance NDIS performance, will be implemented in five regional areas: the South West, Gascoyne, Great Southern, Wheatbelt, and Goldfields-Esperance. Each location will undergo an 18-month establishment, rollout, and transition phase.

Flight2Health has been commissioned to deploy fly-in fly-out (FIFO) allied health workers to these remote areas, reducing the necessity for residents to travel significant distances for care. This model follows a successful pilot in Katanning, which established previously unavailable place-based allied health services. Flight2Health Chief Executive Kennedy Lay stated:

"The goal is to ensure all Australians have access to NDIS allied health services regardless of their location."

Hireup, an aged care and disability service provider, will also extend its services to these five regional zones. The company plans to onboard casual support workers in these communities, formalizing existing support networks and aiming for continued on-the-ground support, as achieved in the Katanning project.

Kimberley Region Exclusion

A disability advocate raised concerns that the Kimberley region, which has a significant Indigenous population, has not been included in the current expansion. Bunuba man and Kimberley-based disability advocate Victor Patrick described the exclusion as a "shame," emphasizing that:

"Access and inclusion should encompass all areas."

Patrick noted that many individuals in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions may be unaware of their eligibility for NDIS services.

WA Disability Services Minister Hannah Beazley acknowledged that while services exist in the Kimberley, there is ongoing work to boost support. Beazley explained that services in the Kimberley, particularly for First Nations people, operate differently and that efforts are focused on connecting eligible individuals to the NDIS through assessments.