Advocating for Excellence
The Illawarra Disability Alliance meets bi-monthly and has a strong focus on advocating for continued positive changes to benefit people with disability in our local communities.
As providers we want to see an inclusive Illawarra where people with disability are living their best lives receiving the right type and amount of supports from skilled and capable organisations with great staff who are in it for all the right reasons.
IDA providers are passionate about inclusion and we advocate through:
Policy Influence and Advocacy: we engage with government to shape policies that promote access, opportunity and equitable support systems for people with disability. We do this via submissions to government inquiries (see below), by sharing information and making our members and their participants aware of issues that may affect them, by contacting and working with local Members, business leaders and other key stakeholders to formulate solutions.
Collaboration and Problem Solving: As leaders we work together to develop ideas to guide policy support to people with disability to enhance access to community, employment, school and mainstream services or to share ideas, innovations or resources, where appropriate to do so, to achieve good outcomes.
Highlighting Gaps and Issues: We have our finger on the pulse, and we advocate for timely and sustainable responses to issues that are affecting service providers and / or the people with disability who we support.
Podcast and Media: Through our “Community Matters” Podcast we regularly highlight issues of direct relevance and importance to our members and we work to create opportunities for members to platform relevant issues through the media.
Latest Submission
July 2025
Illawarra Disability Alliance Submission to the NDIS Support Rules Discussion Paper
This submission highlights systemic issues with the implementation and interpretation of NDIS Support Rules that providers report are creating barriers and problems in relation to service delivery and participant outcomes.
While providers agree that the idea of the lists is important to identify what is and isn’t an NDIS support, the current Support Rules framework lacks clarity, consistency, and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms, resulting in excessive administrative burden, reduced choice and control for participants, increased costs for providers and crucially is resulting in an effective stifling of innovation in disability supports, consumables and services.
Previous Submissions
(Available on request - email admin@cigroup.org.au )
June 2025
Illawarra Disability Alliance Submission to the DSS Consultation Paper “Next Steps in Supported Employment: Consultation on the Way Forward.”
The Illawarra Disability Alliance (IDA) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Department of Social Services Inquiry into the next steps for supported employment in Australia.
This submission represents input from member organizations of the IDA who deliver supported employment services in NSW and Victoria. The submission outlines a comprehensive approach that protects vulnerable employees, recognizes the value and need for supported environments and businesses that can cater to the needs of supported employees while creating genuine pathways to inclusion, supported by legislative frameworks, adequate funding, and evidence-based decision making.
April 2025
Submission to the NSW Government Inquiry Into Foundational Supports for Children and Young People with a Disability.
The Illawarra Disability Alliance contributed to the NSW Parliament’s Select Committee Inquiry into Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in NSW.
This submission represents input from member organizations of the IDA in response to the committee terms of reference to ensure foundational supports are inclusive, sustainable, and effective in supporting the rights and wellbeing of children and young people with disability across New South Wales.
March 2025
Submission in response to NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Consultation Paper: Mandatory Registration of Supported Independent Living (SIL) and Support Coordination, November 2024.
The Illawarra Disability Alliance made a submission focused on SIL, strongly supportive of mandatory registration for SIL services providing recommendations to government in relation to supporting a transition to full registration for all SIL providers across the sector.
December 2024
Submission in response to NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission Consultation Paper: Proposed Legislative Reforms to Strengthen the Regulatory Powers of the NDIS Commission, November 2024.
The Illawarra Disability Alliance made a submission to the Q&S Commission supportive of changes to the NDIS Act that better support the human rights of people with disability including the introduction of new protections and penalties for bad practices.
October 2020
Submission – Supported Independent Living Funding Implications
The Illawarra Disability Alliance made a submission to the National Disability Insurance Agency detailing concerns and making a number of recommendations regarding the Supported Independent Living Funding changes.
September 2020
Submission – Support Coordination – External Consultation
The NDIA released a discussion paper in review of the Support Coordination service model, exploring five key topics:
Inclusion of support coordination in participant plans
Understanding the role of a support coordinator
Quality of support coordination
Capacity building for decision making
Conflict of interest
The Illawarra Disability Alliance made a submission to the National Disability Insurance Agency making a number of recommendations which focus on delivering quality, needs-driven support coordination to enable people with disability to enhance their quality of life.
February 2020
Annual Price Review 2020-21
The IDA welcomed the opportunity to comment on the pricing of services provided under the National Disability Insurance Scheme and prepared a submission covering the following topics:
Increasing Flexibility and Reducing Administration
Participant Flexibility
Price limits for 1:1 core supports
Disability Support Worker Cost Model
Price Limits for Group-based Core Supports
Capacity Building Supports
Consumables
Plan Management Supports
Cancellation Rules
Travel Rules
Establishment fees
January 2019
Submission to Inquiry – General issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS
In our role as secretariat for the Illawarra Disability Alliance, Community Industry Group recently made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme for the Inquiry into General issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS.
The inquiry is seeking to identify broad systemic issues relating to the implementation and operation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Submissions will inform the Committees’ annual report to Parliament on recurrent issues that have arisen, and inform recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Scheme.
The submission is available on the Standing Committee website .