In response to The Hon Jane Prentice MP, Assistant Minister - Social Services & Disability Services

The boom in access to various sources of information is indeed indicative of the changing landscape for both the Aged Care and Disability Systems in Australia. The establishment of the Carers Gateway is welcomed, as all carers and vulnerable persons need access to accurate, trusted, and uncompromised information. With the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), along with the My Aged Care (MAC) scheme, people utilising support schemes and services are requiring up-to-date information as they try to navigate a changing system. IDEAS, Australia’s most trusted source of disability information since 1984, has had 1.49 million online visits in the same time period that The Hon Jane Prentice MP refers to in her statement, compared with 500K at the Carers Gateway. Since December 2015, IDEAS has helped nearly triple the amount of people the Carers Gateway has helped. IDEAS prides itself on providing access to accurate, non-biased and independent information to people disabilities, older people, carers and families. Since the introduction of the NDIS and MAC, IDEAS has received growing interest and enquiries through all its information platforms. As experts in disability information and advocacy, IDEAS employees help clients navigate important information and enables people with disabilities across Australia to make more informed decisions about their lives. In addition, IDEAS supports and strengthens the work of other information and advocacy providers. IDEAS is not a direct service provider: we are information experts. As Executive Officer of IDEAS, Diana Palmer, explains it: “We ensure there is no real or perceived conflict of interest in our information collection or provision. Trusted independent information contributes to a model of citizen agency wherbye people with disability can make informed choices and lead fulfilled lives, wherever they happen to live in Australia.” For those interested in finding out more about IDEAS’ valuable services, please call our toll-free number 1800 029 904, visit www.ideas.org.au or email our Information Officer at info@ideas.org.au.