Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS
2022-23 Annual Report
Our acknowledgement and commitment to accessibility
The Independent Advisory Council (IAC) Annual Report is made possible thanks to the efforts of people with disability. This report acknowledges and pays respects to fellow Australians with disability.
We also acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the country throughout Australia, and their continuing connection to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
The report
The purpose of this report is to let the disability community and Australian people know about the important work the IAC has done over the past year
We have been guided by our 2022-23 Work Plan and our Operating Model. The Work Plan and Operating Model maintain the accountability, integrity, and performance of our work.
Our important advisory role
The IAC was established as part of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Act 2013. Our statutory role is to give advice to the NDIA Board, both at their request and on our own initiative.
We bring lived experiences of disability into the boardroom of the NDIA through our advice. Section 144(1) of the NDIS Act outlines that our advice should draw attention to the most important issues affecting people with disability. Our advice allows us to speak up for people with disability and put participants at the centre of the NDIS.
Reference groups
The IAC has established 4 Reference Groups to further strengthen and guide our advice. Our Reference Groups also help us represent the diversity of people with disability as part of the IAC. They add valuable expertise to the IAC’s advice around the areas of:
IAC membership
IAC Members bring their advice to life through their skills, experience and knowledge about different areas of disability.
Follow the link to read more about the current IAC Members as at 30 June 2025.
IAC Reference Groups
IAC Reference Groups are an invaluable source of further expertise for our advice. They have been determined as part of our own procedures, to give advice and feedback in relation to issues and opportunities across 4 focus areas.
Our priorities
Our Operating Model defines how we work so that we can achieve our aims. It outlines the 4 steps we take to create, deliver and progress our advice:
Identify and prioritise
Mobilise
Advise
Implement
Our Work Plan
Our Work Plan outlines the work the IAC will do over a year. The 7 priorities for the Work Plan in 2024-25 are:
NDIS participant pathways and assessments
Navigators
Home and Living
Foundational supports
Self-management and flexibility
Participants who are Ageing
Palliative Care for Participants
Promoting our work
This year we have continued to share accessible information about our work to raise awareness and understanding of the IAC. We did this through:
Released 21 bulletins about IAC and IAC Reference Group meetings to the public.
Implemented Easy Read meeting packs for the Intellectual Disability Reference Group’s face-to-face meetings.
Released and promoted IAC’s Work Plan to the public
Released our Annual Report to the public.
Updated online platforms to ensure up to date and accessible information
Continued to engage with the disability community across Australia, though community update presentations led by our Principal Member.
We remain committed to a planned redesign and redevelopment of the IAC website. The website and its content will meet the highest accessibility standards and user experience.
Year in Review
2023
July
The NDIA introduces new legislative amendments to the NDIS Act. Subsection 147(3) notes that the appointment of a Principal Member to the IAC must also be a member of the NDIA Board.
IAC starts co-design work with the NDIA on a new Home and Living Framework.
August
The IAC makes progress in co-designing a new Supported Decision-Making Policy.
The IAC Home and Living Reference Group holds its third meeting for 2022-23, focusing on the SDA Pricing Review, SDA operational guideline and Individualised Living Options (ILO) review.
September
The Hon Bill Shorten, Minister for the NDIS, attends his first official IAC meeting to discuss IAC and ministerial priorities.
The IAC Children, Young People and Families Reference Group meets to start development of ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’ advice.
Mr Kurt Fearnley AO appointed Chair of the Board of the NDIA. The NDIA Board also welcomes new members Dr Graeme Innes AM and Ms Maryanne Diamond AO. Ms Rebecca Falkingham PSM, accepts the role of NDIA CEO.
October
The Australian Government launches the NDIS Review, with IAC starting engagement with the Independent Review Panel.
The IAC Intellectual Disability Reference Group holds its second meeting for 2022-23 and discussed progress on the NDIA’s Supported Decision-Making Policy and Home and Living Framework.
November
The IAC releases its 2022-23 Work Plan (DOCX 84KB). This outlines 6 priorities that the IAC will focus on during the financial year.
The IAC welcomes Mr Fearnley, the new NDIA Board Chairperson, and Ms Falkingham, the new NDIA CEO, who attend their first official IAC meeting.
The IAC discuss the co-design work relating to testing home and living solutions with underrepresented people and the NDIA’s draft Home and Living Framework.
The IAC Equity and Inclusion Reference Group holds its first meeting for 2022-23 to discuss the NDIA’s First Nations Strategy, CALD Strategy and LGBTIQA+ Strategy.
December
The IAC endorses ‘Operationalising Intersectionality’, a guide for applying an intersectional lens to our work.
IAC holds further discussions about the ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’ advice.
2024
February
The NDIA reports to the IAC about how its advice recommendations are being progressed.
The Children, Young People and Families Reference Group meets to provide feedback on recommendations about the IAC’s ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’.
March
The NDIA Board notes IAC’s Improving equity in the NDIS (DOCX 307KB) advice and Agency Response.
April
The IAC meets in Hobart, holding its first in-person meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IAC talks to Tasmanian DRCOs and partners in the community about their experience with the local testing of PACE, the new NDIS customer relationship management system.
The NDIA publicly releases its new Participant Safeguarding Policy. This Policy marks the delivery of one of the NDIA’s first major co-design projects with the IAC and disability community.
May
The IAC endorses its ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’ advice.
The IAC discuss their Work Plan for 2023-24.
IAC starts work on co-designing 6 key initiatives as part of the Australian Governments’ NDIS reform work, to ensure the NDIS delivers better outcomes for participants.
The IAC works on proposed themes for submission to the NDIS Review.
The IAC Children, Young People and Families Reference Group provides feedback to the NDIS Review’s Independent Review Panel.
The NDIA releases its Supported Decision-Making Policy. This Policy, a result of one of the Agency’s co-design projects, had its genesis from the IAC’s June 2021 advice Choice and control to safely live a good life of belonging and citizenship (DOCX 1MB) and early work done by the IAC Intellectual Disability Reference Group.
June
IAC sends Improving equity in the NDIS (DOCX 307KB) advice and Agency Response to the Minister for the NDIS and the DRMC, in keeping with Section 145 of the NDIS Act.
The Intellectual Disability Reference Group further worked on finalising their input to the IAC’s advice ‘Enhancing behaviour support in the NDIA’.
The NDIA progresses the Home and Living Framework and Implementation Plan, co-designed with the IAC, to the NDIA Board.
Dr Ben Gauntlett concludes his role as Disability Discrimination Commissioner, also leaving his IAC role as Expert Adviser.
Advice to the NDIA Board
This year, our advisory efforts encompassed:
Submission of the Improving equity in the NDIS (DOCX 307KB) advice to the NDIA Board, accompanied by an Agency Response.
Creation and endorsement of the advice ‘Improving the NDIS for children and young people: the importance of being guided by their voice’.
Development of ‘Enhancing behaviour supports in the NDIA’.
Tracking how the NDIA is implementing our advice, including reporting, and monitoring the progress of historical and current IAC advice.
Over the years, we have generated a broad range of advice accessible on IAC’s website.
Word list
Agency Response: A response statement by the NDIA explaining what they will do to make sure IAC advice and/or recommendations are put it into practice, to improve the NDIS.
Best practice: Services that follow expert advice, and that research has shown to work well.
Co-design: When all the people involved in delivering, experiencing and understanding a system work together to make it better. For example, people with disability work with the NDIA to help make the NDIS work better for people with disability.
Governance: The system for running an organisation, including who is responsible and accountable for each part of the work.
Intersectionality: Some people are different in more than one way. For example, they may have disability and identify as First Nations people. Intersectionality happens when they are treated differently or poorly for all the ways they are different.
Iterative: Improving work or a product service by using a process that includes feedback, and allows for further refinement.
Operating Model: A process that defines how we will work to achieve our aims and deliver advice.
Stakeholders: Are all the people directly or indirectly involved in an issue or piece of work.
Sustainability: Ensuring that something can run for a long time without costing too much.
Systemic: A problem or change in policy and/or practice that affects, or has the potential to affect, many people.
Trauma-informed: Care that lowers stress levels and reduces the likelihood that people who have experienced trauma will be overwhelmed.
Whole-of-government approach: Different government agencies working together to address issues that cut across different areas of government. For example, people with disability may need disability support in the health, justice and education systems.
Work Plan: Outlines and plans our priorities and what issues/opportunities we will focus on over a set amount of time. For example, our Work Plan usually runs for one year.
Acronyms
CALD: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
CEO: Chief Executive Officer
DRCOs: Disability Representative and Carer Organisations
DRMC: Disability Reform Ministerial Council
IAC: Independent Advisory Council
ILO: Individualised Living Options
LGBTIQA+: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer or Asexual Plus
NDIA: National Disability Insurance Agency
NDIS: National Disability Insurance Scheme
SDA: Specialist Disability Accommodation
