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Before people can leave hospital, they need somewhere to go. But arguments over who should be responsible for funding disability accommodation are leading to crisis across the country as expensive hospital beds are filled by People with Disability.

Almost incredibly, three men who are NDIS participants have remained at North West Regional Hospital in Burnie for three, four and five months, despite allied health professionals clearing them to leave. ABC News reports their provider’s requests for more personal-support hours at home were rejected; one man received extra equipment.

The NDIA says the time participants spend waiting for hospital discharge has more than halved to 15 days. These cases show what that national figure does not: plan decisions can still leave a person with no safe route home.

The basic problem is obvious: not only is the result terrible for the individuals concerned - it represents a basic failure of governance as states and federal departments refuse to accept responsibility while costs escalate and nobody is accountable.

Disability Advocacy Network Australia warns the problem could grow as NDIS reforms take effect.

Bottom line: A hospital-discharge policy fails when the plan system denies the support needed to make discharge possible. Follow the path - the blockage is at the disability support end.

What to watch next: Whether the NDIA approves the additional home-support hours or explains how the three men can safely leave hospital.

Specialist fees: The Australian Government has passed legislation allowing it to publish individual specialists’ fees and patients’ out-of-pocket costs for common services. The law also restricts private health insurers from closing products and reopening similar cover at a higher price or with reduced value.

Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing

Payment rise: Services Australia says Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment and Age Pension rates will rise on 20 September by $36.80 a fortnight for singles and $55.60 for couples. Recipients do not need to act; the new amount will appear in their Centrelink account or app.

Source: Services Australia

Low-wage reform: Grattan Institute senior fellow Alastair McEwin argues Australia should end sub-minimum wages and build mainstream employment pathways for people with high support needs. He says the Supported Wage System permits rates as low as $3.31 an hour and government should require large employers to publish disability employment figures.

Source: Grattan Institute | Alastair McEwin, Disability Senior Fellow

Language preference: University of Melbourne researchers find no universal preference between person-first and identity-first language. Their analysis of 15 conditions finds identity-first terminology has recently increased for autism and dyslexia, but argues that individual preference should determine how a person is described.

Source: The Conversation | Jemima Kang, Alsa Wu, Naomi Baes and Nick Haslam

Cleaner claims: FlowLogic identifies support codes, price limits, plan dates and service agreements as common sources of rejected NDIS claims. Its commercial guide recommends checking these details before submission, particularly before the claim window falls to 90 days for supports delivered from 1 December.

Source: FlowLogic | Commercial NDIS software provider

Analyse first: UNE Partnerships says organisations should identify the underlying capability gap before commissioning workforce training. It recommends workforce analysis, competency mapping and capability assessment to ensure training addresses an actual need and its cost can be justified.

Source: UNE Partnerships | Commercial training and learning-design service

Stories led: Muscular Dystrophy News columnist Shalom Lim argues representation must create work and creative control for people with disability, not merely place characters with disability on screen. He points to The Damned Ones, whose characters with disability were played by actors with disability, and calls for stories that extend beyond diagnosis.

Source: Muscular Dystrophy News | Shalom Lim, commentary

Australians with disabilities paid as little as $3.31, Health Minister urged to pursue reform

Reporting on a wicked problem. The Australian reports a West Australian provider executive wrote to Health Minister Mark Butler after a client received $38 for a full day’s work. The government says it is consulting on supported employment; the present system can set wages by assessed productivity, below the $26.44 national minimum. Is it better to have a job, or risk the closure of supported work?

Source: The Australian | Paywall: Yes

Actors fear 50 per cent NDIS cut could end decades on stage as No Strings Attached Theatre faces closure

AdelaideNow reports some actors at No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability face steep cuts to community-participation funding as new plans arrive. The theatre says all 45 actors will be affected and it could close because participant contributions provide one-third of its operating income.

Source: AdelaideNow | Paywall: Yes

Health officials in turmoil over 11th-hour backflip on aged care algorithm override powers, emails reveal

Guardian Australia reports officials discovered three days before the Support at Home algorithm launched that the rules gave assessors no legal power to override its funding classifications. Freedom of information emails show assessment organisations later reported under-assessments.

Source: Guardian Australia | Paywall: No

Fewer than 2 per cent of hotel rooms in major Queensland cities are accessible, report finds

ABC News reports a QDN and Urbis audit of 170 hotels found about 2 per cent of rooms in Brisbane and Cairns were accessible, falling to about 1 per cent on the Gold Coast. Accessible rooms were often difficult to identify and largely designed around wheelchair access, leaving other requirements unmet as Queensland prepares for the 2032 Games.

Source: ABC News | Paywall: No