National Disability Insurance Scheme participants in Gippsland will be cut off from allied health providers under cuts proposed by the Albanese Government.
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has written to the Minister for Health Mark Butler, urging him to intervene in a plan to continue freezing the rates of pay for allied health providers and cut their travel allowance in half.
“I have been contacted by occupational therapists, speech pathologists, and physiotherapists who service clients across Gippsland, and they are warning it is unsustainable to provide services at a loss,” Mr Chester said.
“They are caring health professionals, but they also have to run their own businesses, and they will be forced to stop travelling to reach clients who have no other options locally.
“This is a Canberra-centric decision by the National Disability Insurance Agency, which fails to understand the amount of travel required in regional areas for clinicians to reach clients who have severe mobility constraints.
“Without the allied health providers, there is no NDIS, and the Minister needs to take immediate action to protect the interests of rural and regional people with disabilities.
“Mr Butler needs to sit down and listen to the regionally-based allied health providers, not the Canberra bureaucrats who have no idea about life outside the capital cities.”
Mr Chester said allied health providers had warned that freezing the pricing schedules for the seventh year in a row was ignoring the increased demand and rising operating costs following three years of high inflation.
“If more allied health providers choose to stop servicing NDIS clients, there will be longer waiting lists and reduced access to services in rural and regional communities like Gippsland,” Mr Chester said.
