Federal Assistant Minister for Disability Services Jane Prentice says she’s “appalled” the NDIS hasn’t focused more on employment.

Last week, Ben Fordham revealed how red tape was preventing Australians with a disability getting into paid work.

Since the $22 billion NDIS scheme was implemented, Disability Services Australia (DSA) has reported a 75% drop in the number of people accessing supported employment.

It used to take the DSA 24 hours to organise work for someone. Now, with the NDIS on board, the process can take up to nine months.

Assistant Minister Prentice tells Ben Fordham it isn’t good enough and she’s “appalled” employment hasn’t been a priority.

“As you’d appreciate, people with a disability actually want a job. And they’re great employees.

“I was horrified when I got my head around the whole program that it wasn’t one of the priority questions.”

She says she’s committed to cutting the red cap and reforms will see a focus on “employment for everyone who goes in for their NDIS plan”.

When it comes to Barnaby Joyce’s tell-all interview last night, Ms Prentice says she didn’t watch it.

Click PLAY below for the full interview

Related:

75% drop: NDIS crippling the work of Disability Services Australia