National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) chair Dr Denis Napthine has stepped down after serving for three and a half months.
A father of a person with a disability, Dr Napthine was the premier of Victoria from 2013 to 2014 as the NDIS was being established. He held several senior government roles over the years, including being the Victorian minister responsible for disability services.
Senator Linda Reynolds, previous minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), appointed Dr Napthine as the NDIA chair on March 25, 2022. Dr Napthine started his three-year term on April 1, but he had served on the NDIA board since January 1, 2022.
However, on July 18, current NDIS Minister Bill Shorten confirmed that he had received Dr Napthine’s resignation.
“I wish to thank Dr Napthine for his service as chair of the NDIA Board since April 2022,” Minister Shorten said, as reported by Disability Support Guide. “I also wish to acknowledge his work in reaching an agreement with the Gillard Labor Government to establish the NDIS in Victoria.
“Dr Napthine is a committed advocate for the NDIS, and as a carer and somebody who has worked in the disability area, he has a great deal of passion for NDIS participants and their families. I look forward to continuing to work with Dr Napthine in the future to ensure the best outcomes for NDIS participants, their families, and carers.”
Jim Minto will replace Dr Napthine as the NDIA chair until a new chair is appointed.
Read more: NDIA chief Martin Hoffman resigns
Dr Napthine’s departure follows Martin Hoffman’s resignation as the CEO of the NDIA. With both leaders’ departure, national advocacy organisation Physical Disability Australia (PDA) calls on the federal government to appoint people with disability to the board to ensure the agency and the NDIS are run by people with lived experience.
PDA also encouraged disability organisations across the country, NDIS participants, supporters, and providers to join their calls for “improved NDIA CEO and board representation, participation, inclusion, and input from people with disability.”
“The NDIS is essentially a scheme for people with disabilities, but we have yet to see people with disabilities gain senior management positions within the NDIA,” PDA said in a statement, as reported by the Disability Support Guide. “PDA believes that the NDIS should have people with disabilities in those roles to not only increase the representation but [also] bring real-life experience and understanding of being a person with a disability into the agency that is supporting us.
“We encourage the government to do their due diligence in recruiting a new CEO for the agency and make a positive step to rebuilding the trust of people with disabilities.”
The NDIS has been in the hot seat when its funding cuts led to NDIS participants’ financial problems, with some fighting to stay in their homes and some spending months longer than needed in hospitals.
