Experts in our own lives
The Australian Psychosocial Alliance’s NDIS Recovery Plan.
Australians with psychosocial disability belong in the NDIS.
But there’s also an opportunity to reshape it to focus on recovery.
People with psychosocial disability can experience problems or issues arising from mental health challenges.
This can result in difficulties in other areas of their lives such as the ability to think clearly, enjoy full health and good social and emotional wellbeing.
They are people from all walks of life – our friends, family members and neighbours – who face stigma, discrimination and all too often debilitating poverty, unemployment, homelessness and isolation because of their disability.
We need an NDIS that recognises that people with psychosocial disability are the experts
Focusing on recovery
The Australian Psychosocial Alliance’s NDIS Recovery Plan is about seeing people with psychosocial disability as whole people and experts in their own lives.
An NDIS that supports people with psychosocial disability need to include:
1
Better Planning and Supports
2
Coordination and capacity
3
Led by the experts
1
Better planning and supports
Supports that can be urgently and easily scaled up in times of need, and are flexible in response to change, are crucial to ensuring people’s conditions don’t escalate to the point of crisis.
No one should have to relive their worst day just to get support or navigate multiple hurdles in times of need.
We need to see:
- Plans that are personalised, evidence-based and outcomes-driven.
- Flexible funding options that can be scaled up and down.
- Longer plans but more regular check-ins.
2
Coordination and capacity
We need a scheme that recognises that recovery comes from a coordinated plan to rebuild skills and networks, with a consistent support worker, not just the delivery of individual, disconnected services.
Plans designed to focus on recovery will provide win-win outcomes for the scheme and participants.
- Building teams to provide holistic, specialised and recovery-oriented supports
- Refocus services to incorporate more capacity building dedicated to increasing independence and skills.
- Coordinated support among service providers
3
Led by the experts
There needs to be an understanding that people with psychosocial disability are the experts in their recovery journey, and that the most important guides are others with lived experience who have also taken that journey.
People who have experienced mental health challenges are best placed to design and guide others along the path to recovery.
- Build, train and supervise a lived experience peer support workforce.
- Co-design the implementation of Psychosocial Recovery Plans.
- Integrate peer skills and evaluation programs into recovery.
Watch our video
Watch our NDIS Recovery Plan Launch Webinar
With the right framework, the user journey can be transformed.
Want to know more?
The Australian Psychosocial Alliance is made up of Australia’s leading providers of psychosocial support services, including Flourish Australia, Mind Australia, Neami National, One Door, Open Minds, Stride and Wellways.
The APA has made a submission to the review into the NDIS which is currently underway.
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