The NDIS aims to improve the social, educational and economic participation of people with disability, their families and carers. A core task of the NDIS evaluation is to understand the degree to which the introduction of the NDIS has increased social, educational and economic participation. We thus examine social participation, education participation and economic participation, with the latter focussing on employment activities. The NDIS evaluation recognised from its outset two main points: First, impacts on participation are very hard to establish in the short run. Change will manifest slowly, primarily because of the long lags that are involved for outcomes to be achieved in these areas. Second, that change will happen at a different rate in these three key areas, with social participation improvement leading the way, education following, and employment probably coming last. The logic is clear: some social participation changes can happen quickly, while education outcomes will take at least as long as educational qualifications take to be completed. In the context of the evaluation, some forms of participation are often the means for improving other forms of participation. For example, education is often the precursor of employment; social participation can build towards educational participation and so on. It is in this context of interconnected outcomes that this section must be understood.
In this section we present quantitative and qualitative evaluation evidence to examine the extent to which the NDIS has contributed to changes in social, educational and economic participation for people with disability, their families and carers. We further examine the extent to which the NDIS has enabled people with disability and their carers to achieve their goals. We also consider how effective the NDIS has been in helping people to anticipate and plan for transitions such as entering school, moving from school to further education or employment or moving away from the family home.
Social Participation and the NDIS – Evidence from Large Scale Surveys
7.2.1 Social Participation of people with disability
The NDIS Survey asks about the activities the NDIS participants have done recently without reference to a specific timeline (such as ‘in the last month’) in order to simplify the question and improve accessibility. The survey also asks respondents to indicate from the same list three activities that they would most like to do in the coming year. The difference between current activities and future/planned/desired activities is reported here.
Responses to both questions about actual current and desired future social participation activities of NDIS participants in wave 1 and 2 are summarised in Figure 7.
NDIS participants most frequently spent time with family within (88 per cent in wave 1, 87 per cent in wave 2) and outside of the home (respectively 76 and 75 per cent). Other popular social activities included seeing a show, movie or have a meal (68 and 67 per cent), taking part in physical activities (60 and 63 per cent), and meeting friends outside the home (60 and 63 per cent). Three per cent of NDIS participants in wave 1 (2 per cent in wave 2) reported that they had not participated in any social or leisure activities in recent time.
With regard to activities that they would most like to do in the future (Figure 7.2), wanting to go on holiday was by far the most frequently reported desired future activity and one of the least frequently actually experienced. Going out to shows, movie or meals, and spending time with family were reported as the next most desirable future activities.
Using the internet for entertainment or for shopping is among the least desired activities as is meeting friends at home rather than out of the home.
Figure 7.1 Person with disability: Activities respondent has done recently (Trial, Age 8+, waves 1 & 2)
Wave 2 responses suggest very little change over time in the social participation patterns of current activities of NDIS participants (Figure 7.1).
We can also compare the activities desired to be undertaken by NDIS participants in wave 1 and compare with their statement in wave 2. The pattern remains very constant and can be used as an indication of the direction change in disability support provision may need to take.
An important aspect of the NDIS is its explicit objective to remove barriers and hurdles faced by people with disability in their everyday life. After asking about actual and desired future activities, respondents were also asked to think about any hurdles that may make their future activities hard to achieve (Appendix Table A7.1). The most frequently mentioned hurdles reported in both waves 1 and 2 were that social or leisure activities ‘cost too much’ (43.7 per cent in wave 1 and 39 per cent in wave 2) and that ‘other people cannot understand the person with disability’ (42 per cent and 40 per cent).
There has been an overall reduction in the proportion of all other barriers reported by NDIS participants. Transport in particular seemed to pose less of a hurdle in wave 2 (19 per cent) than in wave 1 (25 per cent). The single exception to this change is that ‘being hard for a person with disability to get into buildings’ was reported slightly more frequently as a barrier. This negative finding needs further unpicking as it may be the result of increased attempts to pursue activities in the community which are subsequently frustrated due to access restrictions.
7.2.2 Social Participation of families and carers
The NDIS Survey asks a similar set of social participation questions of the carers of NDIS participants. The information is summarised in Figures 7.3 and 7.4 and gives rise to the following three main patterns that have changed little over time.
First, carers report to be undertaking more social and leisure activities than the person that they care for.
Second, the most frequently reported activities undertaken and desired to be undertaken in the future by carers are similar to those reported by NDIS participants (i.e. meeting with family and friends and participating in physical or recreational activities).
Figure 7.4 Carers: Activities respondent would like to do in the coming year (Trial, waves 1 and 2)
Differences between the trial and comparison samples – social participation
Further analyses were conducted to compare the social activities undertaken and desired to be undertaken in both trial and comparison groups (Figures 7.5 and 7.6), with very little differences observed both in terms of activities undertaken and future aspirations.
When we estimated the impact of the NDIS on these activities and aspirations using both waves of data, we corroborated these observations by finding no statistically significant impact of the NDIS. It is probably too early for such changes to manifest themselves in the context of large-scale quantitative data, and a longer observation period is required.
Figure 7.5 Person with disability: Social activities recently participated in - Trial vs. Comparison (Age 8+)
Figure 7.6 Person with disability: Social activities would like to do in the coming year - Trial vs. Comparison (Age 8+)
