Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:00): Thank you very much to Senator Brown for her question on this absolutely important and massive reform in the disability sector in Australia. Obviously, the senator would be well aware this is once in a lifetime—it is a massive reform—and us moving away from the block funding model that operated in the past to this demand driven model has been something that's changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Australians who live with disability and their families who care for them. Senator Brown, I'm delighted to be able to advise the Senate that more than 300,000 Australians now have been receiving benefits through the NDIS. Of that 300,000, probably the most important statistic is the fact that 100,000 of those people weren't receiving anything at all before the rollout of the NDIS. Senator Carol Brown: I raise a point of order on relevance. My question, without having to restate it but I will, is: what is the current wait time for an NDIS package? The PRESIDENT: That was part of the question. I'm listening carefully to the minister's answer. I note that she has a minute and four seconds remaining to answer. Senator Ruston? Senator RUSTON: Senator Brown, thank you very much for your question and for your point of order. I'm quite happy to take on notice the specific detail of your question. But the great opportunity that you give us here now is to actually tell you about the success of the rollout of the NDIS. An expected 500,000 Australians who live with disability—severe and permanent disability—over their lives are now being able to get access to an absolute state of the art, unique— Senator Watt: What is the current wait time? Senator Wong: You're not answering the question again. The PRESIDENT: Senator Cormann on a point of order? Senator Cormann: Mr President, interjections are disorderly, and I'd ask you to call the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and her colleagues to order. The PRESIDENT: I was in the process of attempting to. I was having trouble hearing the minister. Interjections are always disorderly. Senator Ruston? Senator RUSTON: Thank you very much. This is a policy that has been put into place that has changed the lives of people who live with disability and their families. The PRESIDENT: On a point of order, Senator Wong? Senator Wong: It remains on direct relevance. We understand it's a life-changing reform, which is why Labor proposed it, but the question goes to the wait time. If the minister can't answer it, and I understand that she interjected to say she has taken it on notice, then maybe she should end her answer. The PRESIDENT: The first part of the question was specifically about that. The minister took that on notice. The second part of the question did go to, 'how many people,' and it made claims about people going without and referred to the rollout of the scheme. I think the minister is allowed to talk about this material and be directly relevant to that part of the question. Senator RUSTON: In providing more information to the chamber about the rollout of this scheme, it is pleasing to note that in 2018-19 115,000 participants joined the scheme in that year. That is more than any other year on record. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Brown, a supplementary question?