One of the ACT's largest employment agencies for people with disabilities believes some Canberrans are still anxious about the transition to the NDIS, despite many success stories.
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Koomarri chief executive Miranda Garnett said the transition had been beneficial for most clients and families but her organisation was continually helping clients who had queries.
"We're nine months into the transition and we have seen some really positive outcomes for individuals and the feedback we've received shows in most cases people are better off," she said.
"We have seen some of the individuals receive more support than they have ever had and be able to do things on their own with a direct support officer, like work or volunteer in the community."
But Ms Garnett said feedback also revealed some were confused and anxious about the transition and needed guidance from Koomarri staff.
"Last year we had a lot of feedback from people who were not comfortable because they did not understand the NDIS or know what it would mean to them," she said.
"Once we could demonstrate that there were positive outcomes for people you could start to see people becoming more comfortable."
Since the ACT became a trial site for the NDIS in July 2014, many Canberrans have reported confusion about the scheme and anxiety about making the switch.
In late March, ACT Disability, Aged and Carer Advocacy Service chief executive officer Fiona May said many were overwhelmed by the volume of information available, and by bureaucratic jargon.
"We have raised with the agency [NDIA] that we're concerned the plans are incomprehensible to people," she said.
"The templates and processes are not easy to understand and the new language ... creates a significant barrier for people to argue their case successfully."
To avoid unnecessary anxiety, Ms Garnett said her organisation hired a person whose "fundamental role has been explaining the scheme and how it works".
"It's been a significant change for people as we have moved away from $6 million of block funding to individual contracts that support around 284 people," she said.
Ms Garnett said her organisation had not found a lack of service providers for people with specialised needs, despite initial concerns.
"I know that the ACT Government has been working on that as part of their rollout to date and that hasn't been the case for us so far," she said.
"There have been sufficient providers and I have seen the inclusion of new providers in areas that have been previously provided by the government."
- with Clare Colley
