The Guardian - Coalition shift on rapid antigen tests for disability carers still falls short, advocates say

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Coalition shift on rapid antigen tests for disability carers still falls short, advocates say

Link [2022-01-24 20:02:37]

NDIS participants will be able to use their core funding to pay for RATs, but disability groups say they should be free

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National disability insurance scheme participants will be able to dip into their core funding to purchase rapid antigen tests for themselves and their support workers, but critics have warned the change is still inadequate. The policy shift, confirmed by the Morrison government on Monday, is aimed at addressing an inequity in the system that meant some NDIS participants who lived in their own home, rather than in a group home, were being forced to spend hundreds of dollars on rapid antigen tests for their support workers, as revealed by Guardian Australia last week.

In one particularly shocking case, Carolyn Campbell-McLean, who has muscular dystrophy, and as a result limited lung capacity, had spent $1,300 on tests for her carers, just so they could continue to enter her home and help her with tasks like getting out of bed, showering and dressing herself.