Local disability accommodation providers have warned lives will be put at risk as they face fresh NDIS cuts. One Melbourne home caring for young people with brain injuries is among those set to lose funding for around the clock nursing support.
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00:00 For close to two decades, James McCready-Brian has defied the odds.
00:07 They said he would need to go to a nursing home, that he would probably only live three to five years.
00:12 A gifted footballer and law student, the then 20-year-old was left with catastrophic brain injuries after an unprovoked coward punch during a night out.
00:21 James needs care for every aspect of his life. He can't speak, he needs to be fed through a tube into his stomach.
00:30 Now living in specialist care home Austin Street, James and nine other residents receive around-the-clock care under the supervision of a registered nurse.
00:39 But that's about to end with the National Insurance Disability Agency set to remove funding for Austin Street's 24/7 nursing care, saying it doesn't meet its criteria of value for money.
00:50 The nursing support is critical. We would have lives at risk if we didn't have nursing oversight for the residents at Austin Street.
00:58 Instead, nurses will be required to train support workers to take over their roles.
01:03 You can have the best support worker in the world. They come to us, however, with anywhere between a 12-week to a one-year TAFE qualification.
01:14 They are not trained clinicians.
01:18 In a statement, the NDIA said Austin Street is one of several specialist disability accommodation providers where 24/7 nursing care is being removed because the NDIS was not designed to operate such models.
01:30 The home and Robin Bruin have taken the NDIA to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
01:35 Without nursing staff, we're looking at the potential closure.
01:39 Austin Street is one of few specialised facilities in Victoria for young people with acquired brain injuries. Its closure would mean residents like James would be forced to end up in aged care homes.
01:52 The case will be heard later this year.
01:54 year.
01:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]