A state-funded accident insurance scheme to cover seniors who suffer catastrophic injuries is set to be canvassed as part of a wide-ranging review of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Canberra Times can reveal the upcoming review of the NDIS, expected to be announced within weeks, will have scope to examine the introduction of a National Injury Insurance Scheme.
This masthead on Wednesday revealed the former NDIS Minister Linda Reynolds had lobbied then-Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to work with the states and territories to finally establish the scheme, more than a decade after it was recommended by the Productivity Commission.
Senator Reynolds' calls didn't gain any traction before the Morrison government was dumped from office at the federal election in May.
She's now renewed her push as an opposition backbencher, writing to Treasurer Jim Chalmers and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten to encourage the Albanese government to revive the idea with the states and territories.
Under the Productivity Commission's model, the scheme was to be funded by the states and territories and would provide lifetime support for people who suffered catastrophic injuries in four types of accidents - motor vehicle, workplace, medical and general accidents.
It would provide a financial safety net for seniors who are excluded from the NDIS, which is only open to new entrants under 65.
"If a person is aged over 65 and is met with a catastrophic injury they have to seek support through the aged-care and the health sectors," Senator Reynolds told Parliament on Wednesday.
"As we've heard publicly, this is particularly difficult for Australians who don't have the financial means to support themselves."
Given the scheme would be paid for by the states and territories, and could ease the pressure on the Commonwealth-funded aged care system, it's likely to be an attractive proposition for the federal government to pursue.
The Canberra Times put a number of questions to Mr Shorten about the idea, including whether he supported it and, if so, what steps would be taken to get it off the ground.
Mr Shorten didn't respond to the questions, instead providing a statement which confirmed he had received Senator Reynolds' hand-delivered letter on Wednesday afternoon.
The new minister said he had also asked his agency to brief him on what action the Coalition took on the issue during its near decade in office.
Senator Reynolds' push has been welcomed by Lud Kerec, who "slipped through the gaps" after a collision with another cyclist while training for an ironman in 2010 left him a quadriplegic.
The NDIS didn't exist when Mr Kerec became disabled and by the time it had been rolled out in the ACT the then 67-year-old was too old to join.
He has instead been forced to rely on "substantially inadequate" funding through the aged care system and the help of his wife as his primary carer.
Mr Kerec estimated that his out-of-pocket costs, including for regular physiotherapy and to buy and maintain equipment, would total about $70,000 this year.
The Forde resident wrote to Mr Shorten after Labor's election win to argue that age should not be a barrier to the NDIS for people who have "been unfortunate enough to have sustained a severe an injury as my own".
In a response to Mr Kerec dated July 16, an agency branch manager repeated that the Productivity Commission had recommended the age cut-off as it believed over-65s could be supported through the aged care system or the proposed accident insurance scheme.
"States and territories have not established the NIIS as was originally proposed," the branch manager said in the letter, which The Canberra Times has seen.
The 74-year-old is among the dozens of disabled seniors who have signed up to a new class action being prepared against the Commonwealth, which would seek compensation for the over-65s excluded from the NDIS and the scrapping of the age barrier.
Whether its comes via removal of the age barrier or establishing the new accident insurance scheme, Mr Kerec told The Canberra Times that something must be done to end the "discrimination".
"It is discrimination - they are not treating people equally," he said.
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.
