Dylan Alcott says NDIS not in need of overhaul but improvement 'definitely' needed

Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott says listening to people with disability is the way to fix any issues with the NDIS.

Alcott is in Canberra today to launch a report into what the scheme is doing well, and areas where it could improve.

Despite ongoing criticism of the NDIS and its perceived failings, the activist and tennis great said there was much to celebrate about it too.

READ MORE: Optus confirms more than 2 million customers had data exposed

"The first third of our report is talking about all the awesome work that the NDIS has done over the first 19 years," he said.

"I think we often always talk about the cost and not the benefit. It seems like a bit of a pain for everyone when it is really not."

Alcott said every dollar spent on the NDIS scheme ended in $2.25 going back into the national economy.

READ MORE: Aussie dad dies after hospital gives him painkillers, left to wait

"It is an awesome investment. But we often hear this negative rhetoric around it, people don't understand it," he said.

Alcott said the report did not advocate for an "overhaul" of the NDIS, but aimed at "maximising its potential".

And the key to that was bringing more people with lived experience of disability into the decision-making circle.

"There are areas that definitely do need improvement," Alcott said.

READ MORE: Ukraine claws back more territory from Russia

He applauded the recent appointment of Paralympian Kurt Fearnley as the chair of the NDIA board as a "game-changer".

"Often participants haven't been at the forefront of making decisions for themselves," Alcott said.

"They haven't had flexibility about how they can spend their funding, and often they get left by the wayside a bit, and that is all looking like it is going to change which is awesome."