That ICPA (Aust) advocate to the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to allow National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants from rural and remote areas, who are required to attend boarding schools for their secondary education, to utilise their NDIS funding for the employment of individual support workers within boarding facilities.
Students with disabilities living in rural and remote areas often have no choice but to attend boarding schools to access secondary education. These students require support similar to what they would receive at home; however, current NDIS restrictions often do not allow funding to be used for support within boarding environments.
Without access to appropriate support workers funded through NDIS plans, some schools are left with no option but to employ additional boarding staff to assist these students. The cost of this staffing is then distributed across all boarding families, significantly increasing already substantial boarding fees and creating an inequitable burden.
Allowing NDIS recipients to direct their individual funding towards necessary support within boarding houses would provide equitable access to care and reduce the financial strain on schools and other families.
