A Personalised Approach to Safeguards in the NDIS

Authors: Marita Walker, Kate Fulton and Bruce Bonyhady

This discussion paper is the result of work led by the Safeguards and Quality Assurance Expert Group as part of the NDIS implementation groups. It draws together current thinking around capital building for all citizens and empowering safeguarding in the context of the emerging NDIS. 

The paper offers an outline of a Safeguarding Framework that enables citizens to be safe, well and included. The Framework is person centred and starts from the premise of building citizens capital through developmental investments. The approach is fundamentally steeped in the notion of citizens having an active role in safeguarding themselves. 

Key Findings 

Citizen Capital is the foundation of understanding people, their resources and their context and is a valuable way to develop a good plan that incorporates effective safeguards. 

The assessment process and determining reasonable and necessary supports should have a focus on and preference for developmental investments. Investing in citizens and families to further develop the notion of capital and developmental investments, will also lead to people having higher expectations of the planning and supports they receive. 

Further exploration is needed to develop ways in which the broad range of potential providers can be encouraged and incentivised to offer high quality, inclusive products and services. 

The proposed framework seeks to acknowledge the individuals assessment of their own vulnerability and build on their capital and encourage expectations for high quality supports. 

This paper provides a new conceptual framework and opportunity to develop new thinking and behaviours from the start of the NDIS.

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A Personalised Approach to Safeguards in the NDIS © Marita Walker, Kate Fulton and Bruce Bonyhady 2013.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.