On Saturday 17 September Mitry Lawyers announced a class action would be launched against the Commonwealth Government on behalf of people who are 65 years and over and who have a disability, due to their exclusion from the NDIS.

To gain access to the NDIS, a person must meet several criteria, which includes the age requirement that the person was aged under 65 when the access request was made. This restriction is based on at what age you applied for the NDIS, not whether you have had the disability before the age of 65. The overall aim of the class action is to remove this 65 and under exclusion so that all age groups can access the NDIS. Mitry Lawyers are also considering claiming a range of monetary damages for the impact of the NDIS exclusion on people over 65 years old.

Further information can be found on the Mitry Lawyers website.

For people over 65

Currently for people who are over 65 years old, government subsidised funding is provided through My Aged Care. Unlike NDIS, My Aged Care requires people to make co-payments towards services and has capped levels of funding, which are not determined by the care needs of the person with a disability. As the age care system was designed to accommodate people experiencing deteriorating health because of aging, there is a lack of understanding around the specialist needs of people with a disability.