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Tuesday 19 March 2013

What's in a name? NDIS or DisabilityCare?

Yesterday's announcement:

Insurance scheme renamed DisabilityCare
Michael Gordon, Political editor, National Times (Fairfax), 18th March 2013

The National Disability Insurance Scheme will be given the name DisabilityCare Australia on Monday, before legislation to establish the scheme passes through Parliament.

''We think that given Medicare is so well understood, DisabilityCare is the right name for it,'' Julia Gillard told Fairfax Media. The Prime Minister insisted her government would find the savings to support both the scheme and the Gonski plan to improve the nation's schools.

''I've always said there will be some hard choices in doing that, but at the end of the day the government's budget is a reflection of our nation's priorities and our nation's choices,'' Ms Gillard said.

''I think these things - better schools, better support for people with disabilities, better insurance for everyone against the prospect that they or a family member could have a disability - need to be high priorities and other things need to give way for them.''

The scheme will be launched from July.

Reactions:

Is the new name 'DisabilityCare' set in stone as THE National Disability Insurance Scheme name? 
Sam Connor, Your Say - NDIS, 18th March 2013

There's been quite a lot of negative feedback about the proposed new name for the NDIS this morning.

We understand that the idea was to reflect what it is about - disability + care and support = disabilitycare and also to reflect the Medicare brand. But in the disability sector, the word 'care' holds different connotations. It reflects a charity or medical model approach rather than a social approach, and not an entitlement model. 'We're going to care for you, you poor things.'

Probably not the intent, but that is what is being heard. Not everyone agrees with this - some parents have said 'we don't care what it is called, as long as we're supported'. But others say its not the disability that's being supported, its the person and their life.

Do you agree? Does the new name reflect the intent of the NDIS, or not?

You can comment on this web page, Your Say - National Disability Insurance Scheme, to give your response. *** This page has been removed overnight from the Australian Government's NDIS website, without explanation. Further comment is likely to appear on Ramp Up. Added 20/3/2013.

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