Productivity Commission
SUBMISSION 

dear Sir/madam

I would very much like to make the following points to the Disability Care and Support Inquiry

I have read the preliminary report and I’m still very concerned that the matter of services available to the AMPUTEE section of the Australian community is still not being addressed as it should be.

Our Association fully and strongly supports the submissions of Limbs4Life, Melbourne, Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association (237), apc Prosthetics Pty Ltd (241), Peter Spooner-Hart (458) and wish to answer questions asked by the Commission in Overview Chapter 4, pages 67-68.

•	We believe the NDIS should be the funding body for prosthetics for all Australians throughout the country.  This would give equality to all Australian amputees.  We further believe that prescribed prosthetics should be within World’s best practice.
The Association considers that ancillary equipment such as suspension liners should also be funded by NDIS.  This occurs at present in some state funded schemes such as in Victoria and Queensland.

•	It is a scientific fact that amputees suffer more from heat and cold than others with all limbs intact.  This will vary depending on how many limbs are lost.  We see this fact during our peer support visits and therefore request that some allowances for electricity/gas/firewood be made available to amputees through the NDIS.

•	Our Association feels that expenses such as taxi fares to/from medical appointments, amputee clinics and rehab gyms etc. should, for equality purposes, come from allowances provided by the NDIS.  Some states currently provide schemes such as the Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme (TTSS) through the NSW Department of Transport and the Isolated Patients Travel & Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) provided by the NSW Department of Health.

•	The Amputee Association of NSW Inc. feels strongly that all allowances to carers of  amputees, whether adult or child, should be funded by the NDIS, again for equality purposes.

We appeal to the Commission to bring treatment of Australian amputees into the modern era.