Sally Sara: Art and music therapists say they're in crisis mode due to federal government funding reforms. The way that therapies are grouped under the National Disability Insurance Scheme is set to change. Practitioners won't be able to charge as much, which they say will make many businesses unsustainable. And as Kathleen Ferguson reports, some of the people using the services are also concerned.
Kathleen Ferguson: Music and art therapy have been game changers for Maggie's family. But news the way they are being classified under the National Disability Insurance Scheme is changing is causing distress.
Maggie: I just wanted to tell you how shattered we are. We have a 49-year-old son with cerebral palsy and a mild intellectual disability. He's attended music therapy and art therapy for years and gained so much from both.
Kathleen Ferguson: She says for her son, it's more than a creative pursuit.
Maggie: The sort of things that have improved for Toby have been his breathing, his self-esteem.
Kathleen Ferguson: The ABC has been told people who have art and music therapy as part of their plan can still access it. But the way practitioners can charge for the services is going to change. Their hourly rate will be lowered, which the industry says will be unsustainable for businesses. Monica Zidar is the president of the Australian Music Therapy Association. She says the industry was blindsided.
Monica Zidar: It was a huge shock. We found out, we had our suspicions on Friday morning and we had those confirmed by the NDIA by Friday afternoon and we've been in crisis control ever since.
Kathleen Ferguson: Monica Zidar says her industry is self-regulated, but that it mirrors the framework set by allied health professions such as physiotherapists. She says a master's degree is required to become a qualified music therapist and that the association she represents is a member of Allied Health Professions Australia.
Monica Zidar: Since we've had access to neuroimaging and the technology has got better and better, a lot of the techniques that we use have been tested under neuroimaging. You can't dispute the evidence and the Australian Music Therapy Association has just published an evidence summary. It's pages and pages long.
Kathleen Ferguson: Monica Zidar says music therapy has a wide range of benefits.
Monica Zidar: Speech language, memory, executive functioning, we can even work on a person's gait, the way they walk, building core strength. There are lots of things that we do in music therapy that are very, very functional.
Kathleen Ferguson: Trinity Ford from advocacy group People with Disability Australia says NDIS participants are worried.
Trinity Ford: Yeah, this is all still kind of unravelling and we're getting an idea of it as this is happening now, but from the brief conversations that I've had with a couple of members, they're very concerned and confused about what this means.
Kathleen Ferguson: She says her organisation is concerned these therapies are being undervalued.
Trinity Ford: Yeah, that's our principal concern at this point is that art and music therapies have a really good evidence base in the literature, that they're effective therapies and interventions for people, particularly with a background in trauma, which we know that a lot of people with disability, whether that's their primary disability or not on the NDIS, a lot of us do have trauma.
Kathleen Ferguson: The Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, says he wants to ensure the therapies are worth what they are costing.
Bill Shorten: So the first thing is that if you're currently getting it, or if you're actually a service provider is worried that you want to keep your $196 an hour, that stays in the person's plan. But at the end of the plan, what we want to see is that there's evidence that the therapy which is being provided improves or maintains a person's functional capacity.
Sally Sara: That's the NDIS Minister Bill Shorten ending that report from Kathleen Ferguson.