Senator RENNICK (Queensland) (15:17): The federal coalition government takes the rollout of the NDIS scheme very seriously. The facts and figures will support this. The NDIS continues to grow at a rapid pace. Progress is being made to enable every Australian with a significant and permanent disability to access the reasonable and necessary support they need to participate fully in their communities. As at 30 June 2019, 21,500 service providers had been registered. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, launched in July 2018, continues to manage provider registrations in New South Wales and South Australia. It commenced operations in all other states on 1 July this year, except Western Australia, where operations will commence in July next year. As at 30 June this year, the NDIS was operating fully in all regions of each state and territory, except four regions in Western Australia. They will join the NDIS in July 2019, and Christmas and Cocos islands will join the NDIS in July next year. Importantly, the NDIS is supporting people from existing state, territory and Commonwealth systems, and people who have never received any Commonwealth support previously. Currently 99,000 people are receiving supports for the first time. As at 30 June this year, 298,816 people with disabilities, including children in the ECEI program, have been supported by the NDIS. This represents an eight per cent increase in the number of participants over the last quarter. An additional 27,853 participants, excluding children in the ECEI program, received approved plans this quarter. The government is committed to continuing to work with the NDIA and state and territory governments to ensure the success of the NDIS. The insurance approach allows pressures on the NDIS to be identified early and allows NDIA management to put in place strategies to respond to these pressures. In the fourth quarter of June 2018, 27,853 participants had their plans approved. A further 5,312 children were referred through the NDIS gateway. Of those who were surveyed in the fourth quarter, 94 per cent reported their planner listened to them, 94 per cent considered that they had enough time to tell their story and 95 per cent thought their meeting planning had gone well. The NDIS achieved 93 per cent of its operational target across 2018-19, meaning 108,478 of the 116,000 actionable records were processed. Between 2013 and 2019, 298,000 participants had approved plans, and 5,312 children were being supported through the NDIS ECEI gateway. This scheme has been within budget each financial year since it started, including the 2018-19 financial year. I can provide more detail on the plan approval performance for the period up to June 2019, nationally and for each state and territory. New South Wales had a total transition of 95,000 people, taking it up to 104,000. Victoria had a transition of 73,000; Queensland, 51,000; WA, 6,000—that's yet to commence ramp-up; South Australia, 21,000; Tasmania, almost 6,000; ACT, 3,000; and the Northern Territory, 3,000. The NDIA is committed to building positive outcomes for participants and their families and carers. The agency uses the NDIS Outcomes Framework questionnaires as one of the key tools to assess the medium- and long-term benefits of the scheme. To assess the longitudinal impact of the NDIS, participants who entered the scheme in 2016-17 were asked, 'Has the NDIS helped?' after one and two years in the scheme, allowing the NDIA to gain a better understanding of the longer term impact of the scheme. During the June quarter, participants who entered the scheme in 2016-17, who have now been in the scheme for two years, were also asked this question. Survey results from this new group of participants have built on the results of the previous quarters, supporting the trend that outcomes— (Time expired)