The NDIS Review is led by panel co-chairs Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM and Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM.
The panel members are Mr Kevin Cocks AM, Ms Judy Brewer AO, Dr Stephen King, Mr Dougie Herd and Ms Kirsten Deane OAM.
All panel members bring a broad range of perspectives to the review. They have deep expertise in many relevant areas.
Professor Bruce Bonyhady AM
Co-chair
Professor Bonyhady is a disability reformer, economist, one of the key architects of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and was the inaugural Chair of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) from 2013 to 2016. Professor Bonyhady began his career in the Australian Treasury and also worked in economic consulting, funds management and insurance in Australia and the UK, before becoming a non-executive director. His non-executive roles include President of Philanthropy Australia (2006-13). Professor Bonyhady is the father of three adult sons, two of whom have disabilities and in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for services to people with disabilities, their families and carers, and to the community as a contributor to a range of charitable organisations.
Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM
Co-chair
Lisa is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. She was the Secretary of federal governments departments from 2004-2016, and has worked to five Prime Ministers and nine Cabinet ministers. After retiring in 2016, Lisa joined the boards of listed and unlisted companies and many not-for-profits including chairing headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation and being a Director of Social Ventures Australia, Schools Plus and many others.
As a consultant Lisa has participated in reviews for NSW Education, WA Education, Victorian Education, and for the Federal government has chaired reviews in the Education and Defence portfolios.
She was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2011 and in 2003 was awarded a Public Service Medal for her work coordinating the Commonwealth's domestic response to the Bali bombings. In 2011 she was named National Government Leader of the year by Chartered Accountants.
Member
For over 25 years, Ms Brewer has been a high profile speaker, writer and advocate on issues relating to education, autism, and family carers. She has been actively involved in an executive capacity for many related organisations over this time including as the Inaugural Chair of Autism CRC, the national Cooperative Research Centre for autism. Her professional background encompasses a range of positions from working as a parliamentary advisor, to management roles and as a Lecturer in Business and Economics at both La Trobe and Charles Sturt universities. She was also Pro-Chancellor of Charles Sturt University for the Southern Region until 2020.
In 2013, Ms Brewer became an officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to people with a disability, particularly those with Autism Spectrum Disorders, to refugees living in rural areas, to women, and to education.
Member
Kevin Cocks is a recognised leader in the human rights and disability field. He has dedicated himself to pushing for an inclusive, accessible and diverse Queensland through legislative and policy reform and State-wide advocacy.
Kevin is currently the Executive General Manager of Accessible Transport Network (ATN) and is developing an Accessibility and Inclusion Strategy (AIS) that focuses on delivering infrastructure, products and services that are accessible and inclusive of all Queenslanders and our visitors. Prior to this, Kevin held the maximum term of seven-year position at the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland (ADCQ), where he made significant progress with the work of realigning the organisation to focussing on the vision for a fair and inclusive Queensland. This was a challenging but necessary step for the Commission to continue to achieve its highest aspirations as an organisation.
Member
Kirsten Deane is the General Manager of the Melbourne Disability Institute. An interdisciplinary institute based at the University of Melbourne, the work of MDI is focused on providing much needed evidence, data and research to address the complex problems faced by people with disability in this country. Prior to joining MDI, Kirsten was the Campaign Director for Every Australian Counts, the grassroots campaign that fought for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). With her ability to bring people together and her clear communication skills, Kirsten played a critical role in building political and public support for this world-leading reform. Since then, she has continued to push for the NDIS to achieve its original vision. Kirsten has also served on numerous ministerial councils and advisory committees, including Co-Chair and Deputy Chair of the National People with Disability and Carer Council. A former journalist turned academic, Kirsten has three children and, as a result, has excellent conflict mediation skills.
Member
Dougie has been the Executive Director of Community Connections for Inclusion Ltd (CCI) and My Choice My Support Ltd (MCMS) since 2018. Both organisations are NDIS registered providers with charity status.
Dougie has worked for more than 30 years in disability advocacy, disability advice and service delivery in Scotland and Australia. This includes six years leading the staff team supporting the official advisory body to Ministers of the NSW Government – the Disability Council of NSW. For two years Dougie was a member of the senior executive leadership team of the National Disability Insurance Agency responsible for launching the NDIS in 2013. Dougie was Chair of the ACT Disability Reference Group, the ACT Government’s official advisory body on disability policy, for 4 years. He is currently Co-Chair of the ACT Disability Justice Strategy Reference Group.
Dougie is a NDIS participant. He has been a quadriplegic wheelchair user for 37 years.
Member
Dr Stephen P King joined the Productivity Commission as a Commissioner from 1 July 2016 and was reappointed for a five year term on 1 January 2022. He was recently a Professor of Economics at Monash University in Melbourne where he also held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics from 2009-2011.
Prior to joining Monash, Stephen was a Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), where he chaired the Mergers Review Committee. Previous roles include, Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne and a Professor of Management (Economics) at the Melbourne Business School.
Stephen's main areas of expertise are in microeconomic theory, competition economics, regulation and industrial organisation. His research has been published widely, including articles in major international economics journals. He has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University. He received the Distinguished Public Policy Fellow award from the Economics Society of Australia in 2021.