NDIS changes undermine choice, Tasmanian advocates say, as independent assessments approach

There are also concerns that Tasmania does not have the allied health workforce available for locally-based assessors.

The changes - subject to legislation being approved, and the brainchild of former minister Stuart Robert - mean NDIS participants would be referred to a single assessor who would use a series of standardised questions over a three-hour session to determine their eligibility.

At the moment, eligibility can be determined through a health professional familiar with the individual, such as an occupational therapist.

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The government has been trialling the process as part of a pilot scheme, and it was intended to be fully rolled out later in 2021.

Tasmanian disability advocate Jane Wardlaw said the planned mandatory nature of the assessments were causing concern in the community.

"There's a lot of fear that people may lose their funding, or they might not be able to access the scheme. That's not the way it should be intended," she said.

"I have had at least one person contact me who lives in Tasmania who was offered the opportunity to go through the independent assessment, they decided not to, even though they were offered $150 to do so.

"We're not trusting the government in this process because they have not consulted us in a way that allows us to co-design the process."

Should more people be rejected for the NDIS, Ms Wardlaw fears that Tasmania did not have the capacity to provide adequate mental health or other forms of support, and this should be further developed.

Earlier this month, 108 disability and advocacy organisations signed a joint statement to the government raising their concerns.

A parliamentary inquiry into the independent assessments has received dozens of submissions, including from the Northern Tasmania Migrant Resource Centre.

The Launceston-based organisation outlined its concerns that there were not enough allied health professionals in the state to carry out the assessments, and that it could end up relying upon tele-practice.

MRC programs and services manager Mark Deverell wrote that this would disadvantage diverse communities attempting to access the NDIS.

"In addition to this being an unusual process, the language barriers mean that phone interpreters often need to be engaged, complicating the process even further," he wrote.

"The communities we work with are generally reluctant to air their problems to people, meaning that they often respond that things are fine, when in fact they are far from it.

"It takes a certain level of skill, awareness of cultural sensitivities and relationship to encourage particular migrants to talk about their abilities or struggles with day to day tasks."

Disability advocate Kristen Desmond said it would be difficult for families to explain their situation to an assessor they were not familiar with.

"It's really about saying that you're going to have somebody who doesn't know you, or your child, ask these questions about what you can't do. You have three hours to show you're eligible or not," she said.

"It focuses on deficits, rather than on choice and control which is what the program was set up to do."

Advocates urged the new NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds to reconsider the changes.

Bass Liberal MHR Bridget Archer said it was "very concerning" to hear how Tasmanian advocates felt about the changes as it was her understanding they were not intended "to disadvantage anyone". She encouraged anyone concerned to get in touch with her office.

The National Disability Insurance Agency did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.