A Murray Bridge therapeutic play and listening specialist says she is concerned that creative and expressive therapy services for children under seven will be significantly reduced under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) from 1 February 2025.
Therapist Tina Bambury is calling on the Federal Government to reconsider the funding cut, as families will face greater difficulty accessing crucial early intervention services.
“The cost one-to-one will be reduced to less than a third to what has been able to charged out previously, and if you’re in a group session then you can charge a higher rate, but this reduces the capacity for some people to access these services because they may not be comfortable yet to go into a group setting,” Tina Bambury told ARN’s Jennie Lenman.
She calculates the move could result in her organisation ‘P.L.A.Y. with a Purpose’ losing around half of its business.
“That would mean that the young women I work with may not get as many hours as what they’ve had previously, until we find a solution to work through that income, and also, more importantly, the clients would be left without any services, and being in a regional area, this is huge.
“It restricts people’s ability to be able to express themselves in ways that they may find hard to do verbally, and the impact on that for clients and families is significant.”
She is calling on community members who share her concerns to get in touch with their local MP and to sign the petitions circulating on the issue:
- Keep Music Therapy as an NDIS-Funded Therapeutic Support
- Creative and Experiential Therapies Belong in the NDIS
