âI think it is a rotten idea,â Lambert, 46, says. âThe NDIA should bugger off and leave people with disability with enough money to be able to live an ordinary life like everyone else in Australia.â
Lambert, who took part in an independent assessments pilot scheme with her mother, Laurel, lives with cerebral palsy, an intellectual disability, a hearing impairment and epilepsy.
The new mandatory but free assessments will begin in the middle of the year and will apply to new applicants and, later, the 440,000 participants already on the scheme.
The National Disability Insurance Agency insists they are aimed at addressing consistency issues and inequality within the scheme, not cutting costs or reducing package sizes.