Aussie is forced into humiliating act every day after his NDIS is suddenly CANCELLED – as he desperately launches a fundraiser to find the money himself
An Aussie unable to walk has been forced to crawl up the stairs at his house to reach his bedroom after his NDIS funding was cancelled.
Jolly Duong was a keen triathlete and had the world at his feet before a cycling accident changed his life forever in 2024.
Mr Duong was cycling with friends when the brakes on his bike failed and he crashed down a mountain, landing head-first into a rock, completely severing his spinal cord at the T5 vertebrae.
He was left paralysed from the chest down and rehabbed to the point he was able to complete the City to Surf in his wheelchair.
He’s now facing another uphill battle against the NDIS.
After months in hospital, Mr Duong was discharged to NDIS-provided accommodation where he could live safely with a little independence.
But six months later, the NDIS kicked him out because it determined his two-storey family home was suitable enough.
‘They cancelled the medium-term accommodation and effectively said “well, you’re at home”,’ Mr Duong told A Current Affair.
Jolly Duong is monitored as he tries to climb up his stairs despite being paralysed
Mr Duong has made a remarkable comeback after being paralysed from the chest down
He now has to crawl up a flight of stairs multiple times a day to get to his bedroom and bathroom.
It takes him roughly eight minutes to climb up to the second storey because he can only use his arms to lift the rest of his body weight up each individual step.
‘It’s challenging, but it’s my every day at the moment,’ he said.
‘I felt initially that it was a claim of independence of I’m able to access my own stairs on my own terms.
‘But as time goes on and as fatigue hits harder and harder, it is very inhumane.’
He has asked the NDIS for funding for modifications, including a lift so he can remain at home, but he’s been knocked back.
The lift would cost about $100,000, so he’s turned to fundraising to get it installed through a GoFundMe.
‘I am fundraising to raise funds for the required home modification, which NDIS will not fund,’ he said.
He spent months in hospital after the bike crash
‘A few years before my injury, I did a knockdown rebuild of my home and had not considered the possibility of being a wheelchair user.
‘My bedroom is on the second floor, and without a lift, I will not be able to maintain my pre-accident lifestyle without major changes to the first floor.’
He’s also started a petition, which will be tabled in the House of Representatives.
The NDIS released a statement in which it claimed it was ‘life-changing for hundreds of thousands of Australians with a disability’.
‘The NDIA can only approve supports that meet the reasonable and necessary criteria under the NDIS Act. The NDIA makes all planning decisions based on available evidence at the time,’ it continued.
‘The agency supports the right of all participants to seek a review of agency decisions including through the Administrative Review Tribunal.’
When pressed further by Daily Mail, an NDIS spokesperson said ‘we can’t comment on individual circumstances’.
Dr Nick Coatsworth, who made a name for himself as deputy chief medical officer during the Covid pandemic, told Daily Mail this week: ‘I would say that many people have lost faith in the NDIS.’
