{"id":41717,"date":"2025-07-05T21:29:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T21:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/41717\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T21:29:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T21:29:21","slug":"as-the-government-looks-to-save-money-on-the-ndis-is-this-the-future-of-disability-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/41717\/","title":{"rendered":"As the government looks to save money on the NDIS, is this the future of disability support?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jex Truran-Lakaev is Deafblind and when he moved to regional New South Wales a decade ago, found it hard to socialise.<\/p>\n

So, in 2015 he started the Hunter Deafblind Project in Newcastle for locals who had hearing loss, vision impairment or both.<\/p>\n

“As Deafblind individuals, we’ve all got very similar experiences, but [we had] no real place that we could go and be together,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jex Truran-Lakaev founded the group in 2015. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n

The group started out mostly hosting social gatherings like dinners and sporting events.<\/p>\n

But over time it became much more than a just place for a very isolated community to make connections.<\/p>\n

Mr Truran-Lakaev said it was one of the only places his community could access information about important issues.<\/p>\n

He said during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were options for people who were deaf or blind to access critical information, but not both.<\/p>\n

Blind people could listen to updates on radio or TV and Deaf people were able to see captions and Auslan interpreters.<\/p>\n

“But for those of us who are Deafblind, neither of those things were accessible. We went without all of that critical information,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Many members of the group communicate via tactile sign language – where the Deafblind person sits opposite the interpreter and places their hands on top of the interpreter’s to feel the signs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n

Instead, Deafblind group members received updates about lockdowns through the Hunter Deafblind Project.<\/p>\n

More recently the project has hosted the fire brigade and sessions with health workers about bowel cancer screening.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Firefighters are among the various community services that present to and learn from the group. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n

When those workers hold workshops for the group, learning is a two-way street as many have not met a Deafblind person before.<\/p>\n

“Groups like this are important to allow individuals to come together and share ideas, to have their needs met and be active citizens,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mr Truran-Lakaev said.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share?\u00a0Email\u00a0Specialist.Team@abc.net.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

‘Once in a generation’ reforms<\/p>\n

The federal government hopes more community-led programs like this one could help reduce spending on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which has been projected to cost $48 billion<\/a> this financial year.<\/p>\n

Labor has already made a number of changes<\/a> to bring down costs. It hopes to reach an 8 per cent annual growth target<\/a> in the coming years, down from the 20 per cent growth it inherited when elected in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Those behind the Hunter Deafblind Project believe it could provide a blueprint for how foundational supports could work elsewhere. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)<\/p>\n

Key to realising that target are two words at the centre of generational reforms currently underway: “foundational supports”.<\/p>\n

A recommendation of the 2023 NDIS Review<\/a>, foundational supports have been pitched as a new tier of services outside the scheme, jointly funded by the federal government and states and territories.<\/p>\n

Previous minister Bill Shorten indicated foundational supports would begin by the middle of 2025.<\/p>\n

But as we approach the middle of the year, and as participants report an increase in cuts or reviews of their plans<\/a>, foundational supports are still yet to be set up or properly defined.<\/p>\n

Foundational supports: what we know<\/p>\n