Lived experiences of people with a disability will be front and centre as part of a new council that will provide crucial information for support services.
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The government's national disability data asset council will meet for the first time on Monday, which will aim to improve accessibility and inclusivity in programs provided by federal agencies.
The council is made up of people with disabilities, federal, state and territory representatives and data experts.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the council would help assist the government in working through policies as part of the national disability strategy.
"More than one in six Australians live with disability, but we haven't had accurate, consistent national data across all states and territories on what they need and where people are falling through the cracks," she said.
"By working collaboratively with the disability community, data experts and state and territory governments, we will now be able to derive more evidence-based ways to create a more accessible and inclusive Australia."
Members of the council include the first chair of the National Disability Insurance Agency Bruce Bonyhady, chief executive of Inclusion Australia Catherine McAlpine and disability discrimination commissioner Rosemary Kayess.
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten said accurate data was needed to ensure services go to where they are best needed.
"As we reform the NDIS, this will give richer insights into how NDIS supports interact with supports and services in other systems outside the scheme and how we can improve those connection points," he said.
"The national disability data asset will help do that by linking de-identified NDIS data with other Commonwealth and state and territory data for the first time."
The first group of data is expected to be made available in late 2024.
Australian Associated Press
