BackWednesday, 24 August 2016
Kelly Vincent – Vision Australia Interview on the NDIS MyPlace Portal Problems and the Absolutely Fabulous Film Night
On Wednesday 24 August, Dignity for Disability MLC Kelly Vincent was interviewed on radio station Vision Australia to discuss the continuing problems with the NDIS MyPlace portal and the Absolutely Fabulous film night hosted by Dignity for Disability on Friday 26 August. Here is the transcript and audio from the interview.
Pam Green: Time now to welcome to 5RPH, Dignity for Disability MLC Kelly Vincent – Hi Kelly.
Kelly Vincent: Hi Pam.
Pam Green: I know today you’ve met with the new federal Assistant Minister for Disability Services, the Honourable Jane Prentice MP, how did that meeting go?
Kelly Vincent: Well, I have to say it was fairly productive. Minister Prentice seems quite aware of a lot of the issues happening with the NDIS at the moment, particularly the issues surrounding the portal and the fact that a lot of the data hasn’t migrated and that’s having a big impact on service providers and people with disabilities alike. She also agrees that both the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and the federal government have to improve their communication about this. So hopefully we’ll at least see a lot more consistent information coming out from the federal government about exactly what isn’t working and what’s being done to fix it. And we are also expecting a review to be completed within the next week or so – as I understand it, and hopefully that review will have some good recommendations for how the federal government can progress in not only rectifying the mistakes but also making sure they don’t happen again.
Pam Green: So how are things progressing with the NDIS MyPlace portal specifically?
Kelly Vincent: Well look Pam we all know that this issue has been going on for about nine weeks now and it’s a very gradual in fact almost glacial process, particularly for service providers and people with disabilities and families affected and so it’s been a very slow process but things are gradually improving. Day by day there seems to be small improvements – other things are fixed and other things are not fixed. So there are still big issues with some service providers still not being able to accurately claim payment for services that they have provided, so there are still big issues. My office is in daily phone contact with the NDIA, we have a daily phone hook-up with the agency to make sure that they are aware of what we are hearing and they can put assistance in place for those people who have contacted us. So if anyone has any concerns or questions that they’d like us to raise with the agency in our daily phone hook-ups every afternoon, please feel free to give my office a call on 8237 9543.
Pam Green: And on a brighter note, I understand that Dignity for Disability are having Absolutely Fabulous film night this coming Friday – can you tell us some of the details for those that might be interested in going?
Kelly Vincent: That’s right Pam. We’re showing the new Absolutely Fabulous movie at 6.00 pm for a 6.30 pm start on Friday 26th August at Wallis Cinemas Mitcham, 119 Belair Road, Torrens Park. Tickets start from $15 for a concession ticket, $20 concession ticket (including 6 raffle tickets), $20 ticket or $26 ticket (including 6 raffle tickets). The movie is rated M so it’s not recommended for people under the age of 15. You can buy tickets through PayPal on our website via www.d4d.org.au/events/, or you can do an electronic funds transfer on our website as well.
Pam Green: Sounds like a great night – a fabulous night!
Kelly Vincent: We’ve also got audio description, open captioning as well as wheelchair access. So anyone who has any access needs including audio description or open captions, can rest assured that they’re welcome to come along as well.
Pam Green: We expect nothing less from you of course Kelly. Thank you so much for your time today Kelly.
Kelly Vincent: Thanks Pam!
