NDIS Algorithm-Generated Plans Spark Robodebt Fears

Will NDIS support plans generated almost entirely by an algorithm be the beginning of the next Robodebt crisis? It’s a real risk, according to political sociologist, Dr Georgia van Toorn, whose research explores the growing impact of data analytics and algorithmic decision-making in the public sector. Alarm bells are ringing for Dr van Toorn as NDIS staff receive briefings that the process coming out of the NDIS Review will involve very little discretion or personalisation, and participants’ rights to appeal these decisions will be significantly curtailed. Calls for a simpler, fairer assessment of NDIS participants’ needs came out of the NDIS Review, and will now involve the I-CAN tool developed by researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Centre for Disability Studies. I-CAN measures support needs across 12 areas of daily life, including mobility, self-care, communication, relationships, and physical and mental health. Each area is scored on two scales: how often support is needed, and the intensity of the support required. The assessment, based on self-reported information, is expected to take around three hours, and the data collected via the assessment will supposedly inform the final budget calculation. Whereas currently, an NDIA delegate has discretion to alter support plans recommended to them via computer-based tools, under the new system, the delegate’s role will be limited to that of accepting or rejecting the automatically generated budget. "This is absolutely terrifying and even worse than I anticipated. The NDIA has always insisted that humans have the last word on decisions about support. Now that's changing with the new assessment process to be introduced next year, with the NDIA having no obligation to consider evidence from participants and participants having no rights to ART review of the computer generated decision. "It looks like the Administrative Review Tribunal will no longer be able to make decisions afresh, it can only send plans back to be re-made by the agency using the original tool. A world of bureaucratic misery awaits," says Dr van Toorn. Dr van Toorn joins disability groups in calling for pause, rethinking, and reengagement with groups who will be most affected by these changes, and at the very least, a piloting of the proposed changes so that their impacts can be more seriously considered. Find our more about the impact of automated decision making on NDIS recipients in this doco directed by Jenni Lee in collaboration with Dr van Toorn: https://lnkd.in/gHSX_6ji