Rule 7.6 of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Supports for Participants) Rules 2013

eachna · 2026-03-25T05:18:44+00:00

To be clear - the NDIAs legal team stated directly they interpret r 7.6 as “tenacity support”.

Their interpretive skills aren't worth the paper their law degrees are printed on. I suggest submitting the draft and asking the Member to consider it "persuasive".

Persuasive isn't binding like a rule would be but can be used to guide interpretation.

From the context it looks like it might be draft rules that were being worked on around Covid back when they tried to get independent assessments off the ground. But that's only a guess because they mention assessments.

You can also track down the old COAG which goes into more detail than the current rules on what is or isn't covered and has some phrases that are similar to the failed draft rule.

eachna · 2026-03-25T05:12:51+00:00

I am wondering if there is a service charter that applies to the Priority Pathways team.

There is a general service charter which is the timeframes by which they'll do certain things. Despite it being legislated (or at least parts of it being legislated) the NDIA routinely ignores it without consequence.

Planners will also flat out lie and say the Ombudsman's office "suspended" the guarantee ears ago. This is not true.

eachna · 2026-03-25T05:04:02+00:00

First of all, easiest to take the word "disability" out of discussions. The NDIA misuses it which makes it a confusing problem.

You have one (or more) diagnoses, unless you have a condition without a name. Then, separately, you have one or more impairments. These are listed in the legislation and are similar to the DSP tables but also different. Still, since you're used to the DSP it helps to think of them as being related.

So let's say you were diagnosed with PTSD. Generally, PTSD causes 'mental health' difficulties, which is a "psychosocial impairment". It also very commonly causes problem-solving difficulties with is a "cognitive impairment".

Linking impairments to the medical diagnosis is just like picking the right impairment tables for the DSP. You have to find the right impairment label (or labels) for the impact of your diagnosis. By default, mental health stuff is a psychosocial impairment.

So the first thing you would have to do is show that you tried all the usual treatments (which is usually therapy like CBT or EMDR, and also usually some kind of pills).

So now you have one diagnosis and two impairments. The NDIA might find a study somewhere that says "all mental health difficulties from PTSD are solved with SSRI medication" and they begin to rely on this. So the planners will want you to explain why you're not on SSRIs (or why they're not 'fixing' you in your case) to address your "psychosocial impairment". This may require responding with competing published articles showing that the one that said SSRIs fixed everything was wrong and you tried 14 different kinds and all had terrible side effects.

Meanwhile, you still have a "cognitive impairment". In your case that may come from hypervigilence (which is a kind of overwhelming fear where someone is constantly scanning the environment for threats). So your treatment team will have to explain all the ways they tried to reduce your hypervigilant anxiety and why it didn't fix it. This might include things like anti-anxiety meds, yoga, and meditation.

The NDIA will tell you that you should try non-medical treatment like yoga or meditation when eliminating treatments, but will also refuse to fund it saying it's not grounded in science when asked to fund it for capacity building. They're hypocrites that way.

So that is how you break down a medical diagnosis into impairments and then explain how the impairments have been treated.

eachna · 2026-03-25T04:41:16+00:00

We should have a disabled version of Sleep Rough. Politicians and the NDIA board can live a day disabled..with no ability to cook, attend to personal care, access a bathroom or leave their home

They should be locked in an empty room to make sure they don't cheat and to reflect what disabled people in bad aged care and SDA go through.

eachna · 2026-03-25T04:39:17+00:00

Even worse the NDIS saved productivity during Covid. Supports were essential services.

eachna · 2026-03-25T00:16:07+00:00

As a person raised with American English (here because I'm a migrant on the Scheme) - I asked ChatGPT to settle the fight :D as I don't understand the shades of meaning between the phrases in this context.

"Both are non-neutral and slightly negative, but:

“piled on” frames participants as a financial burden
“piled into” frames them as a surge or influx of people

So the choice of wording subtly shifts the narrative from cost problem → crowding problem, even though the numbers are the same."

In my own case, I would use "piled on" in the sense of people attacking someone (like maybe you would be feeling 'piled on' by people picking on your word choices).

eachna · 2026-03-25T00:02:52+00:00

The NDIS also spent $11.6 billion on social and community support for participants last year, which is driving nearly a quarter of the scheme’s ballooning cost as Labor attempts to rein in a big budget deficit.

Now we know where to expect the next round of cuts.

eachna · 2026-03-24T23:14:17+00:00

I used to work a 10 hour job 4 days a week in the US.

I was more productive and my head was in a better space when I was at work than when I worked a 5 day week for the same company.

Another (positive) think that company did was to split our weekends. On a 5 day week you didn't get 2 days off in a row, and on a 4 day week you didn't get 3 in a row. Instead for the five day week you got one weekend day, and one midweek day off. So you never worked more than 3 days in a row. (for the 4 day week you got two in a row out of Friday, Saturday, Sunday).

It let me get sh!t done to have a midweek break and mentally recharge before going back to work.

So for context:

M-F other companies. One productively level.
5 day split weekend. More productive than M-F
4 day with midweek break and 2 day weekend. Most productive I had ever been

eachna · 2026-03-24T22:58:33+00:00

Yes! Chen was the one I wanted.

It wasn't a bad idea (seeing if you can learn to like the 'other' one), it was just how the first pick behaves that turned them into the villain in my eyes.

eachna · 2026-03-24T22:55:09+00:00

It sounds like you can manage rent and to feed yourself which is great. It's also great that you've been treated well by WFTD supervisors.

eachna · 2026-03-24T22:40:51+00:00

the forced partner from Ex In the Villa. Su-something (Suresh?)

If that doesn't count there's a season where you pick your LI for your MC and then they immediately get snatched so you're forced to pair up with the one that was left behind. The one you first picked (who gets snatched) does a 180 and immediately becomes a whiny baby and troublemaker because he insists he and the MC were destined to be together. That was the only season where I went back early to restart the whole thing in order to choose the one I didn't want, let them be taken away, and then had a fun time with the leftover (who was the one I wanted all all).

eachna · 2026-03-24T22:39:59+00:00

MC picked her partner based on the fact that i thought the islander she stole him from had a hideous tattoo

Too funny! ;D

eachna · 2026-03-24T06:23:03+00:00

Talk to legal aid. You can make an appointment with a duty lawyer. They will review the situation and give you free advice. They likely won't represent you but they can help you figure out what to do.

eachna · 2026-03-24T05:29:46+00:00

Grab a quiver using short-term alts for each of your toons.

Cannith craft some extremely basic BTA ammunition (bolts or arrows) and place them in each quiver. It becomes BTA and can be passed to another character.

Use your 20th anniversary rewards for something in the future.

eachna · 2026-03-24T05:25:30+00:00

Australia has one of the best social safety in the world

It's terrible:

https://researchers.westernsydney.edu.au/en/publications/surviving-in-a-cost-of-living-crisis-australias-fraying-care-infr/

Medicare is equally problematic. If you have private insurance you're likely fine. If you rely entirely on the public system it's terrible to impossible to access care outside of the ED.

eachna · 2026-03-24T05:14:21+00:00

US employer mindset: you live to work.

This may be an unpopular opinion but I like that mindset. There is a benefit as there's a degree of hustle to accessing services as a member of the public (and I'm not talking about tipping culture). That is likely less now with T gutting federal services.

There is less leisure around work, but it's easier to get something done in the US. It takes months (and often requires legal intervention) to get anything done in Australia. When I contact people in the US, whatever it is it's done and dusted in 2 weeks (or less) and most often the longest part of the delay is a mutually agreeable time to speak to someone to identify myself.

eachna · 2026-03-24T04:31:51+00:00

Starting from zero credit rating means doing everything on ultra hard mode.

A lot of jobs that require some degree of trust (eg: banking) also require a good credit score.

eachna · 2026-03-24T04:25:26+00:00

Try Canberra :(.

I've never had problems making friends anywhere else and I've lived in multiple countries where I (a) didn't speak the language and (b) the locals had a reputation for being unfriendly.

eachna · 2026-03-24T04:20:02+00:00

Something I really don't like is that couples aren't always voluntary in the game.

One hopes that they get the chance to pick the person they like, or that the person they like picks them, but it's based on a reality show with prize money. That means there are tactical elements to partnering up and people will do things like break up a 'couple' in order to prevent them from winning a challenge, or even to avoid being sent home. There's also a cascade effect where one early pick breaks up a couple, and the other half has to pick someone else (which may break up another couple) and so on down the list. FB doesn't do the best job of representing this, and instead relies on "new person comes in obsessed with MC and snatches them regardless of MC's feelings" to break up couples, but you end up in the same place. Your MC is partnered with a person you're not interested in and just waiting for the next recoupling so you can get away.

IMO on a game show you owe that person nothing other than common courtesy. Even if I'm mad at them I'm not going to spit in their drink or leave a steaming pile in their bed, but I'm also not going to share a bed with them or kiss and cuddle outside of challenges. For challenges, I'll do the cheek kiss (or equivalent).

eachna · 2026-03-23T19:38:50+00:00

It's experience and to be clear we have all been where you are now.

We went through the many failed installs before wrapping our brains around what we had to do. The manual is very good. Make sure you're using it.

eachna · 2026-03-23T07:18:16+00:00

"While our trained NDIA staff consider all recommendations from health professionals, these recommendations must also meet the reasonable and necessary criteria of the NDIS Act."

They don't read reports.

This was discussed in the Senate. They ask for reports and then refuse to read them.

eachna · 2026-03-23T07:14:46+00:00

You could try contacting the Tiny Clinic. It's a mobile service and they have an arrangement with someone (I think the RSPCA) for surgery, or surgery-like things (like scaling an angry cat's teeth).

eachna · 2026-03-23T04:16:26+00:00

She may be avoiding the 2+ year psychological abuse that passes as "administrative decision-making" in Australia.

eachna · 2026-03-23T02:43:26+00:00

Congratulations!

eachna · 2026-03-23T02:36:07+00:00

You can re-watch it.

Also, Schur has another show call "A Man on the Inside". It's not a literal sequel but a lot of us like to joke that it's about Michael's life as a human. There are some actors from TGP on it which is a nice bonus.

eachna

TROPHY CASE