I think a lot of the problems governments face with funding is due to trying to keep up with societal changes.  Unfortunately, we have become very insular. There are so many ways of dealing with things that don't necessarily have to cost money or rely on funding. There are a group of us who help out with another friend's child who has a brain injury.  She requires a lot of physio to prevent contractions and painful muscle spasming and chest percussion to prevent chest infections.  We take turns at helping with the exercises (usually requires 2 people).  A physio friend showed us what to do and checks in every now and then.   Just this small amount of voluntary assistance helps to reduce appointments, both in and out of hospital, to a minimum thus saving the system some money.  As a result of the contact we have with the child,  most of us are now confident in looking after her if mum wants to go out, do the shopping, activities with the other kids etc.  One friend in particular, has stayed on weekends with her so that the family can have a weekend away.  This reduces the need for respite.   I think a more beneficial way of alleviating some of the problems we have is to look at old fashioned solutions.  We need to encourage community spirit and get some soul back into society.  Look after each other at a grass roots level.   Throwing money at things all the time has proven that it is not always the answer to solving problems.

EXCELLENT POST.
You are a wonderful person for your part in that families life.

Your story made my heart smile :-x

We need to encourage community spirit and get some soul back into society.  Look after each other at a grass roots level.   I agree with that, although more people work outside the home than they did years ago, so not that many with the free time to help out others in need.

You are right Am, ......finding time is difficult but can also become an excuse.  I look at volunteering like exercise......if you want to see results then you just have to do it.

We work on a roster basis...some can do more than others and others are restricted to when they can do it.  The sense of goodwill far outweighs the inconvenience.  You get a great buzz seeing the family 'coping'.

Mrs Wormwood, good on you.

Unfortunately those who have a problem with the cost of a cup of coffee ...won't be very inclined to do what you do...which is soooooooo much more 

yes and this new tax will be just as helpful as that tax 😞   tell me what is the difference between a tax and a levy?

The funny thing is The Carbon Tax was never about revenue raising..

the NDIS is about people and has the potential to create/save money.

I don't know the difference between a tax/levy to me they are just names....it's what/who;us in this case...it is for that matters to me.

Can we start a Mrs M fan club?

I lubs her heart so much♥

Iza, individual, targeted care based on the kind of disability with the aim of them being able to cope as well as is possible, and IF possible enter the workforce.  A massive campaign to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities.  Heaps of information about the various kinds of disabilities that there are and how people (bosses, other staff), can work WITH people with disability.  I think that there is a whole heap of ignorance out there about disability ... 

And, it can vary so much.  A person without a leg ... a blind person ... a person with a mental illness or depression ... a person with Down syndrome ... but they're often all shoved together as "a person with a disability".  I worked for a while with people with an intellectual disability ... absolutely gorgeous wonderful people who wanted to work and pay taxes and BE productive.  What happened to them?  Sacked or forced to quit.  

And, didn't I hear that the Disability Support Pension is likely to be cut to help pay for the NDIS?  

http://www.ndis.gov.au/about-an-ndis/what-is-an-ndis/

What is an NDIS?

Depending on life’s chances, any one of us could be living with a permanent disability that significantly reduces our ability to independently care for ourselves. On average, every 30 minutes someone in Australia is diagnosed with a significant disability.

Yet in Australia, we have a cruel lottery where the services and support people with disability, their families and carers receive depends on where they live, what disability they have, and how they attained that disability.

As the Productivity Commission found, while there are pockets of success in some states, no disability supp...

This is despite the enormous effort of disability workers on the ground helping to provide support a...

Instead, people with disability are caught in a system that responds to crisis; a system that drips ...

The Prime Minister released the Productivity Commission’s report on 10 August 2011 and all governments agreed with the recommendatio...

An NDIS will turn the way we currently provide disability services on its head. Rather than funding ...

It will recognise that disability is for a lifetime, and so it will take a lifelong approach to prov...

Taking a lifelong approach also means focusing on intensive early intervention, particularly for peo...

Importantly, an NDIS will support choice for people with disability, their families and carers, and ...

An NDIS will ensure people are no longer “shut out” from opportunities and from independence by prov...

It will nurture and sustain the support of families, carers and friendship groups — the very communi...

And it will include a comprehensive information and referral service, to help people with a disabili...

A National Disability Insurance Scheme will give all Australians the peace of mind to know that if t...ted

Moorna, I know that you have been through quite a lot.The services need to exist don't they? Even people who may have the money to pay may find that the services they need no not exist..

I'm sick and tired of people sobbing on my shoulders about their personal issues while having ever more money gouged out of my pockets that I worked bloody hard for all my working life without receiving help from anyone else during the bad times.

No-one gave a stuff years ago when I couldn't work for months after a bad road crash that was due to someone else's carelessness, and the government wouldn't offer me a cent to help us get by because they considered that because I had my own business I could afford to look after my own needs, but when you are stuck flat out on a bed unable to work at your own business it's impossible to raise money to cover anything.

It near on sent us to the wall financially, and if it hadn't been for the bit of money my wife was able to bring in by taking on a menial part time job cleaning motel rooms while also trying her best to look after me at the same time while I was laid up we would have not only lost everything, but ended up deep in debt. 

In the end I had to find the money to pay for my own spinal fusion operation so I could work properly again, and that took some real doing at the time I can tell you.

I still suffer daily pain from it all now, but I get past it by grinning and bearing it with the help of a few strong painkillers.

I have always taken care of my own, and now I pay private insurances to ensure that I am taken care of properly should the need ever arise as I have no-one else left to do it, so I see no reason why I should be expected to pay more taxes to be wasted on things that are not my responsibility.

I only still work at what I do for the simple pleasure of it, not to hand out my money to every Tom, Dick or Harry with yet another sob story, or an ever increasingly greedy taxman.

Katy, The FAQ on the NDIS site may answer some of your questions...who it will cover..short and long term plans