LIFE Without Barriers was formed in Newcastle in 1995 when a small group of families dissatisfied with the level of the region's disability care banded together in pursuit of better services.
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Its early years were ones of modest successes and gradual growth, and like many organisations of its type, its fortunes were supercharged a decade ago by the arrival of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and the associated decision of most state governments, including NSW, to exit the disability sector.
After struggling, along with other not-for-profits, to survive on scant funding, Life Without Barriers was able to expand dramatically as the NDIS grew from its early test sites - including the Hunter - in 2013, to the point where this year's budget is an estimated $35.8 billion, which is more than the government spends on Medicare ($30.8 billion), aged care ($27.7 billion) and support for state hospitals ($27.3 billion).
But as the royal commission has shown, the good intentions of the NDIS as conceived have not always translated into proper practice.
As one of the largest disability providers in the country, and with more than 3500 NDIS participants, Life Without Barriers was always destined to come to the attention of the commission's examiners. In public hearings, CEO Claire Robbs was repeatedly questioned and criticised over what appeared to be systemic failures.
Now, in a report by the commission made public today, Life Without Barriers finds itself the subject of 34 adverse findings, many of which centre on its management and staffing of group homes.
It is no exaggeration to describe the report as damning, and Life Without Barriers will be ignoring the criticisms made of it if it does not embark on a root-and-branch overhaul of the way it manages its operations.
At the same time, however, there is nothing that the Newcastle Herald is aware of to say that Life Without Barriers is an outlier as far as the care of its clients is concerned.
If there are systemic failures in this organisation, they are likely to be repeated elsewhere. Bill Shorten, as Minister for the NDIS, has committed federal Labor to overhauling the scheme, which has suffered from cost blowouts and a growing problem with claims fraud.
Life Without Barriers can do its bit, by finding ways to repair the shortcomings inherent in the findings against it.
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