A small organisation that has been helping Canberra people with a disability for 35 years is facing an uncertain future.
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Along with some other groups in the sector, Technical Aid to the Disabled ACT is bracing for major challenges with the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The scheme will double the money available to the disabled and give them the power to decide what services to buy.
At the same time, the ACT government will wind down its funding of organisations, as they begin to compete in the marketplace for newly-funded NDIS clients.
Smaller organisations could disappear or merge, particularly as larger organisations cherry-pick the more profitable services.
Graham Waite, executive director of Technical Aid to the Disabled ACT, says the group will lobby the government to continue its funding.
''I believe we will struggle a little but that one way or another we will find a way of surviving,'' he said.
''We will continue to negotiate with governments to sustain some government funding to enable us to exist.''
The organisation makes and modifies equipment for people with disabilities, such as bicycles and chairs. However, aids and equipment are a relatively small component of the NDIS market, Mr Waite said.
Board director Frank Fogliati is also concerned about the organisation’s future. He said TADACT offers tailor-made products and services for people with a disability.
''You won’t find an equivalent on eBay or in a department store. It’s a unique service clearly proving that one enabling mobility device does not fit all,'' he said.
''Generic solutions rarely work for people with a disability, that’s why TADACT exists.''
Mr Fogliati is also principal of Black Mountain School and national treasurer to the Australian Special Education Principals Association.
ACT Deafness Resource Centre chief executive Peter Halsey says the new insurance scheme has not taken into account the needs of the deaf and hearing impaired community.
''We’ve been the Johnny come lately of the disability sector, I think our future is going to be in doubt,'' he said.
''Unless we continue to be funded by the government to provide support in the way we currently do with hearing impairment in the ACT, then we will go belly up.''
He fears larger organisations will cherry-pick the more profitable services.
''I think that will happen. They will come in and take over, and there’s nothing the small organisation can do,'' he said.
The ACT is unique in that the insurance scheme is being rolled out across the entire territory, as opposed to other jurisdictions, where a small pocket or a small region is being offered the scheme.
A federal parliamentary committee recently tabled its first report card on the introduction of the NDIS. It did not have a chance to review progress in the ACT, where the scheme began on July 1, but took evidence at the Barwon, Hunter, Tasmanian and South Australian trial sites.
The report confirms that service providers face a significant challenge in transitioning from a block-funded system to one based on a fee for service.