Where is the voice of artists in the NDIS?

Though success stories of the NDIS are emerging, there are a number of artists with disability and their supporters who are struggling to understand and adapt to the new system of individualised funding and planning. For others, there is anxious wait as the program rolls out across Australia.

Well established Arts and disability organisations such as Arts Access Victoria are doing good work to make the transition easier. A key part of this work is empowering artists with disability to self-advocate for arts in their individual plan. However, there is very real concern that the Arts are not fully understood in the NDIS – that the value of the Arts beyond community-based participation, recreation and therapy has not been realised. This creates the significant risk that many emerging and professional artists will face barriers to finding meaningful employment and achieving their career aspirations through the scheme.

Economic outcomes for artists with disability is an urgent priority. An estimated four million Australians live with disability, of whom nearly fifty per cent create art. Evidence shows, however, that people with disability experience significant disadvantage in the arts. A significantly lower proportion of artists find a professional career pathway (National Arts and Disability Strategy 2013-2015), and if they do, they will probably earn 42% less from their practice than artists without a disability (Making Art Work report, 2017).

The AAA NDIS Working party are calling on the NDIA to make employment and economic participation for artists with disability a priority. We encourage them to work closely with the Arts and disability sector to understand the artists’ journey from participation to emerging and professional practice, and to understand the quality programs required to support creative engagement, quality Artistic outcomes, and professional employment outcomes for artists with disability.

The NDIS Working party also advocate for better intergovernmental collaboration. We commend the Department of Communication and the Arts (DCA) for turning their attention to this priority by including better integration and collaboration with NDIA in a review of the National Arts and Disability Strategy. We encourage the DCA and NDIA to work closely with the arts and disability sector who combined, have more than four decades of experience in designing and delivering quality Arts and disability services.

Lastly, we ask the Cultural Ministers to invest in disability leadership and ensure that artists with disability and the organisations that support them are involved in the change. The Arts and disability sector has the breadth of experience and existing resources that can inform the reform. Including artists and leaders with disability in the change is imperative to successful social reform.