A start date for the roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the Illawarra is no clearer despite its early roll-out in western Sydney.
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The NDIS roll-out for children with a disability in Penrith, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains was confirmed on Tuesday, with a memorandum of understanding signed between the state and federal governments.
About 2000 children with disabilities in those areas will be able to start using the scheme's services from July 1 - some 12 months early.
However, the announcement does not change the planned roll-out elsewhere in the state, including the Illawarra, according to NSW Minister for Disability Services John Ajaka. That roll-out plan will be announced in the "coming months", he said, with the entire transition of disability services to the non-government sector by 2018.
The roll-out would be overseen by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) in partnership with the state government.
Mr Ajaka said the NDIS trial sites - which include the Hunter in NSW - had shown where there were areas for improvement.
The feedback from all trial sites had been overwhelmingly positive, he said.
The Public Service Association (PSA) of NSW has expressed concern over the "premature" roll-out in western Sydney. Senior industrial advocate Thane Pearce said it would be a disaster if the NDIS was rolled out too early across the state.
"The trial has not yet finished in the Hunter and until issues are fixed, rolling out elsewhere could disadvantage those with disabilities that might benefit from the scheme," Mr Pearce said.
He said the roll-out of NDIS was about cutting public services, deleting jobs and the loss of specialist services provided by government provider Ageing Disability and Home Care.
"The current government services, which provide some of the most high-level, expensive care, will not continue in the private sector. Instead they will be based on cost and business models rather than specialised needs of clients."
PSA regional organiser Tony Heathwood said the government was forcing Home Care staff to move across to the non-government sector.
"What they're offering our members is disgraceful," he said. "They're not being given the choice of whether to transfer to the new employer, nor being given the right to redundancy. Plus the government's offer of a maximum of eight weeks transfer package is far lower than the 30-week package offered to staff involved in other privatisations.
"And the two-year agreement to protect their salaries, wages and conditions we don't believe is legally enforceable and will see ... pay and conditions eroded."
