The Morrison government is under pressure to end the bureaucratic delays being blamed for confining NDIS participants to hospital beds or forcing them into aged care homes.
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A coalition of housing, health and disability groups has launched a pre-election campaign calling on the National Disability Insurance Agency to dramatically speed up decisions about funding for supported accommodation.
But NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds has pointed the finger at the states and territories, suggesting supply of public and social housing - for which they are responsible - was a major barrier to the discharge of some participants.
The new alliances says participants are waiting an average of about five months, and in some cases up to 18 months, for a decision.
It argues the hold-ups are causing participants to remain in hospital when they don't need to be, or causing them to go into nursing homes when they're far too young.
The group wants the decision-making time frame slashed "down to 10 days" - which is the tagline for the campaign which launched this week.
The Canberra Times has reported in recent weeks on the scale of the problem in the nation's capital and across the country.
Leaked figures have revealed there were 1100 NDIS participants stuck in public hospitals despite being medically cleared to leave as of October last year, with their prolonged stays estimated to be costing taxpayers more than half a billion dollars.
The latest government figures show there were almost 3670 people aged under 65 living in aged care homes, the overwhelming majority of whom had some form of disability.
That figure was down about 20 per cent from 12 months earlier, meaning the government is trending in the right direction to meet its goal of having no person under aged 65 in aged care by 2025 unless in exceptional circumstances.
However, a major factor behind the decline is that people are either dying in aged care or turning 65, when they stop being counted in the figures.
More than 1300 people either died or "aged out" before they could be moved into suitable housing in the 12 months to June 30 last year, figures show.
The Summer Foundation, which is co-ordinating the alliance, has pointed out there are more than 3000 disability-supported properties sitting vacant across the country, meaning housing supply isn't the major barrier.
The foundation has called more than $50 million in the upcoming federal budget to help speed up discharge rates for NDIS participants stuck in hospitals.
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The campaign's director, Tim Naughtin, said people with a disability shouldn't have to "pay the price" for bureaucratic delays.
"Around Australia there are currently thousands of people with a disability who are stuck living in unsuitable places while they wait for NDIS support," Mr Naughtin said.
"They are stuck in hospital beds, in nursing homes, at home with their ageing parents who are unable to care for them. All while they wait for a decision from the NDIA.
"If you acquire a disability or you need extra support, we know that the initial days, weeks and months are crucial to your long-term wellbeing.
"Being stuck somewhere like a nursing home for months on end, with uncertainty around what happens next or even what the process from here looks like, is the worst possible situation."
In a statement to The Canberra Times, an agency spokeswoman said its priority was ensuring that participants had timely access to the disability-related supports they required.
She said it was committed to making sure decisions about supported accommodation were made in a timely, consistent and accurate way.
The spokeswoman said it was important to note the complexities of individual cases, particularly those involving housing requests, and the time it took to gather information.
She said the reasons behind delayed hospital discharges were complex and included factors outside the agency's control - including housing supply.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
