Challenges for the National Disability Insurance Scheme in regional, rural, and remote areas:

Reflections on “Connecting Tasmanian National Disability Insurance Scheme participants with allied health services: challenges and strategies of support coordinators”

This paper reflects on the issues facing individuals living in regional, rural and remote locations who are trying to use NDIS support to access services from allied health practitioners. Five issues are discussed: attraction and retention of staff; skill development; attitudinal change; new models of service delivery; and improvements required in the capacity of the NDIS to address the challenges of service provision in non-metropolitan areas. As identified by the National Rural Health Commissioner in 2020, problems of access, quality, distribution and leadership need to be resolved to ensure equitable access.