Parents' experiences in registering with and accessing funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme for early intervention services for children with developmental disabilities.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate parents' feedback regarding their experience in registering and accessing funding with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and communicating with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).


METHODS
Parents of children less than 7 years of age, who were assessed through the Child Development Unit (CDU) at the Women's and Children's Health Network from July 2013 to June 2014 and referred to the NDIS, were invited to complete a study questionnaire regarding their experience with the NDIS. The questionnaire was initially mailed to the parents. If no response was returned, families were telephoned to complete the questionnaire by phone or to be sent another copy of the questionnaire to complete.


RESULTS
Of 121 children eligible for the study, 42 (34.7%) parents completed the questionnaire. Thirty-six (85.7%) parents reported having no difficulty with the NDIS registration process, while six parents (14.3%) had difficulty. With regards to accessing funding, 27 (64.3%) reported having no difficulty, 11 (26.2%) stated that it was difficult and 4 parents did not comment. Twenty-six parents (61.9%) reported that it was easy to communicate with the NDIA, while 12 (28.6%) found it difficult. Overall, 26 (61.9%) parents were satisfied with the NDIS and NDIA, 6 (14.8%) were unsatisfied and 9 (21.4%) were neutral.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of parents were satisfied with both the processes required to register and access funding through the NDIS for early intervention services for their children with developmental disabilities, and their ability to communicate with the NDIA.
Child Development Unit, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Tharangi
T
Ranasinghe
Child Development Unit, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Deepa
D
Jeyaseelan
Child Development Unit, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Deirdre
D
White
Department of Paediatric Rehabilitation, Women's and Children's Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Ray
R
Russo
D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000628:therapy*; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D061345:Early Medical Intervention; D005260:Female; D005378:Financial Support; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018868:Insurance, Disability / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012042:Registries; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires

NDIS
; children; disability insurance; disabled children; early intervention