Calls to halt controversial NDIS trials of independent assessments

While she has welcomed federal minister Linda Reynolds' decision to pause the permanent rollout of mandatory independent assessments, Emma Davidson wants her federal counterpart to go further and immediately end an ongoing trial of a system which has faced fierce and sustained opposition from disability groups and politicians.

Senator Reynolds last week said she would assess feedback from the trial before laws to mandate the assessments were introduced to parliament, backing away from her predecessor's ambition to have the new regime in place by the middle of the year.

But in an email to Canberra disability sector members after Thursday's meeting of national disability ministers, Ms Davidson said "genuine" consultation on the future of the scheme was impossible while the pilot was still running.

"In today's meeting, I spoke clearly and firmly in favour of ending the trials," she said in the email, which The Canberra Times has seen.

"Not pausing, but ending, the Independent Assessments pilot. This is consistent with the ACT's ongoing support for the human rights of people with disability.

"I will continue to strongly support the community's position for the rights of people with disability to choice, control and continuity, and to remain true to the original intent of the NDIS."

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Senator Reynolds said on Friday that disability ministers would meet in July to consider the specific feedback from the trials and broader consultation with NDIS participants.

Despite the pause, Senator Reynolds has signalled the government remains committed to introducing independent assessments, which it has long believed would make the system fairer.

Under the existing system, people wanting to enter the scheme source and present reports from their own medical professionals to the National Disability Insurance Agency to help it determine their eligibility.

The controversial model pushed by Senator Reynolds' predecessor Stuart Robert would see professionals from government-appointed firms conduct the assessments. The government would foot the bill for the assessments.

A National Disability Insurance Agency spokesman could not say exactly when the trial would finish - only that an "end date would be communicated in due course".

The spokesman said the response to the trial had been "positive", with more than 6500 participants signing up. About 60,000 participants were invited to participate, according to evidence given to last month's senate estimates.

The spokesman said participants were asked to complete a survey about their experience, and had the opportunity to speak with the agency.

"The agency continues to consult participants in multiple ways to better understand how independent assessments will work in practice and always encourages participants to provide feedback on their experience, to help shape the future of independent assessments," he said.

Advocacy for Inclusion chief executive Nicolas Lawler hoped the new minister would rethink the government's approach.

Mr Lawler said the design and evaluation of the independent assessments model had been "fundamentally flawed by a lack of transparency" and an "opposition to substantial change in the face of overwhelming advice".

"It will not be sufficient to continue such a flawed engagement and evaluation process at a larger scale and call this 'further consultation'," he said.

"We will be reaching out to Minister Reynolds in the hope that the minister will take this much-needed opportunity to meaningfully engage with people with disabilities."

Senator Reynolds' decision to pause the rollout raised immediate questions about potential cost blowouts, given the government had already signed contracts worth $339 million with providers to run the independent assessments.

The Canberra Times asked the agency a series of questions about the contracts, including whether payments were due on a certain date, or if they were tied to the number of assessments they conducted.

The agency's spokesman did not respond directly, saying only that the contracts were "being managed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the arrangements in place". The contracts' terms and conditions were not disclosed.

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