Privatise disability insurance, says FSC
Adopting a private health-style model for disability insurance could save the Government $8.5 billion, the Financial Services Council (FSC) says.
In its submission to the Federal Budget, the council stressed the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Disability Support Pension would be unsustainable if not partly privatised.
It cited a Deloitte Access Economics report, which detailed how federal and state government savings could be made by defraying the cost through a personal insurance scheme.
“We are recommending the Government considers leveraging the life insurance sector to meet the ballooning costs of disability welfare in Australia to reduce the increasing pressure on the Federal Budget,” FSC CEO John Brogden said.
“Disability welfare has a significant impact on the Budget as many of those with insufficient insurance draw on the Government through various welfare payments,” he said.
“Life insurance can be the private sector solution to the increasing budget costs of welfare just as superannuation is the private sector solution to the costs of an ageing population and private health insurance is a private sector solution to managing health care costs.”
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