Placing Rural in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Review

Abstract

The National Disability Insurance Scheme is considered Australia's landmark disability support policy reform. The Scheme's implementation has revealed several benefits but also critical shortcomings. The Scheme's benefits have not been equitably distributed with people living in regional, rural and remote areas receiving less. The Australian Government's Independent Review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme in 2023 provided recommendations for improvements to ensure equitable benefits for all Australians. We use a distributed rural proofing lens to explore how processes, recommendations and actions described in the Independent Review into the National Disability Insurance Scheme c..