New NDIA chair Kurt Fearnley says participants must be able to ‘see themselves’ in the agency

The new chair of the National Disability Insurance Agency, Kurt Fearnley, has said the scheme won’t succeed unless participants trust the organisation and “see themselves” in it.

Fearnley, a three-time Paralympic gold medallist, was appointed chair of the agency’s board on Monday, the first time a person with disability has held the position.

Former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes and longtime disability advocate and administrator Maryanne Diamond were also appointed as directors, meaning there are now five people with disability on the board.

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The NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, also announced Rebecca Falkingham, formerly head of the Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety, will take over as chief executive.

Fearnley, who was an independent adviser during the scheme’s rollout eight years ago, said he’d worked in a wide range of governance roles but that his appointment as chair was the “single greatest role that I have ever even considered”.

“I think it’s important that the participants of the NDIS get to see themselves in this organisation and trust with the organisation itself is a visceral thing,” he told reporters in Canberra. “The scheme cannot be a success without trust and that is build over a period of time.”

Shorten also responded for the first time on Monday to a proposed class action which challenges the exclusion of applicants aged 65 and over from the NDIS.

The case, proposed by Mitry lawyers, could see the commonwealth on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars a year for denying support to seriously and permanently disabled people based on their age.

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While declining to comment on the specifics of the case, Shorten conceded that “people in the community who say that the quality of disability care after the age of 65 is inferior to the quality of disability care before 65 … have a point”.

Shorten told reporters in Canberra the NDIS was set up from 2010 to 2013 when “aspects of aged care were superior to disability care” but after “nine years of Coalition government, the tables have turned a bit”.

Aged care had “fallen in a rut” in parts of its operations, while the NDIS “looks better for people in aged care than what they have”, he said.

Shorten said there “is a challenge for disability care for over 65s” but suggested rather than create a separate NDIS for them, which would be “very expensive”, the government may consider boosting the quality of disability care for seniors.

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Fearnley and Falkingham take the reins at a critical juncture for the agency, after relations between the disability community and the organisation hit rock bottom last year, and as the new government looks to reshape the scheme.

Those soured relations came after attempts by the former Coalition government to rein in what it said were cost blowouts in the scheme, while anger grew over widespread complaints of arbitrary cuts to people’s funding packages.

Shorten said Australians needed “little introduction” to Fearnley, who has carved out a successful media career after the wheelchair racer retired as one of the country’s most prominent para-athletes.

“I first met him at the Beijing Paralympics,” Shorten said. “I have to say I got to meet him again in 2009 where he was due to attend an event where I was the junior minister. Unfortunately, Jetstar wouldn’t let him take his own wheelchair on the plane. Kurt was a formidable advocate on that day. He stands up for Australians.”

Fearnley replaces former Victorian Liberal premier Denis Napthine, who was appointed by the Coalition government days before the writs were issued for the election.

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Shorten at the time labelled that appointment a “disgrace”, but he confirmed on Monday that Napthine – who resigned as chair in July – would rejoin the board.

He told reporters he took issue with the former government’s decision to appoint Napthine so close to the election, rather than his credentials.

“I‘m keen to make sure that people who have got experience in government,” Shorten said. “In his own case, [Napthine] and his wife have raised a son with disabilities and he was the Liberal premier who helped negotiate the transfer of the NDIS agreement in 2013.

“The way I would want to see the NDIS run is to be a broad church where people feel included, not excluded.”

Fearnley’s appointment has been welcomed by several disability advocates, including the Australian of the year Dylan Alcott.

Some people with disability, including the Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, had been hoping the agency’s CEO position would also go to a person with disability.

“Today, like many in our community, I am feeling relief that finally we have some more disabled people in leadership positions within the National Disability Insurance Agency,” Steele-John said.

“The appointment of the new CEO is progress, it’s good to have a woman with a background in public service take on the role. I see it as a missed opportunity to have a disabled person as CEO.”

Falkingham takes over from Martin Hoffman, who resigned amid strained relations with disability groups and criticism from Shorten.