NDIS participants and sex workers feel 'betrayed' by sexual services funding ban now being in effect
Oliver Morton-Evans is disappointed with the NDIS funding for sexual services being cut. (Supplied: India d'Scarlett)
For many National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants, a federal government decision means they can no longer access sexual services funding under the system, or they could risk financial pressure.
Sydneysider Oliver Morton-Evans says this decision has been "deeply disappointing" for many who live with a disability, including himself.
"Now, only those who are financially well-off in the disability community can afford this service by paying out of pocket," he said.
One of the most common stereotypes that Mr Morton-Evans comes up against is the assumption that people with a disability aren't sexual beings.
What he knows firsthand though is that intimacy and sex can be integral to identity and happiness for all humans.
Sydneysider Oliver Morton-Evans wishes the government would look at this issue "holistically" rather than with judgement. (ABC: Harriet Tatham)
Throughout times in his life, Mr Morton-Evans has sought the services of sex workers. He described it as an overall enriching experience.
"Growing up in the 90s, there was still a big stigma around people with a disability largely being non-sexual," he said.
Now at 45, Mr Morton-Evans no longer holds onto this "ableist perception".
He wishes those who really need the service and who already had approval from the NDIS still had access to sex work support as a subsidised choice.
The fund cut that has real-life consequences
In July, outgoing Minister for NDIS Bill Shorten announced changes to the scheme, banning the use of funding for sex work.
The minister argued the sexual services funding was "not a sustainable proposition", and was focused on ensuring the overall scheme was on financially sustainable footing.
"It's not as if people are losing all these rights, but what we're doing is creating regulations, which means that it's clear so that people have certainty," Mr Shorten told the ABC.
"Our regulation isn't about moving a whole lot of people off the scheme. It isn't about restricting choice and control. It isn't about denying people what's reasonable and necessary."
The changes came into effect on October 3. Since then, NDIS participants have been unable to access funding for services they might have previously sought.
Mr Shorten said he had been talking about "straightening up the scheme" for the past two-and-a-half years. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
For four years, NDIS participants had been able to use funding legitimately to engage the services of sex workers.
A 2020 case was the catalyst, after a woman who lives with multiple sclerosis sought to include these services in her NDIS plan.
The federal court ruled in her favour, determining the use of the funding met the "reasonable and necessary" guidelines.
Why advocates believe this service should be subsidised
Mark Grierson, CEO of Advocacy Law Alliance/Disability Advocacy NSW, said there are valid and legitimate reasons as to why these services should be funded through the NDIS.
"Those who access NDIS funding are on some of the lowest incomes in the country," he said, arguing that the financial cost of these important services are now front-of-mind for many participants.
"Depending on the severity of the person's disability, this service may be one of the only ways in which they can experience a sexual life.
"While for others, utilising these services helps them learn about their bodies before feeling empowered to find a sexual partner in the community."
He added that many people with a disability feel the NDIS funding cut is "pretty galling".
"We strongly feel that people with a disability need that access to intimacy, pleasure and sexuality like everybody else. Many have got quite severe physical disabilities and some may need extra assistance to get access to that sort of pleasure and intimacy," he said.
"Sex work is a service."
For Mr Morton-Evans — a tech entrepreneur who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair — he wishes those with lived-experience had been further consulted. He personally hasn't received NDIS funding to access sexual services, but he knows people who have.
"Intimacy in all forms is vital. It's a level of human connection and vulnerability that a lot of disabled people have challenges accessing anywhere else," he said.
"A sex worker can become a really close confidant and an important part of a disabled person's life.
"It was really valuable for me."
'Feels like a deep betrayal'
Nova Hawthorne has been in the sex work industry for over nine years and has seen multiple clients who live with a disability.
With one of her clients, Ms Hawthorne said the services she provided were sexual, but also focused on therapeutic care and dignity.
"He would email me using assistive technology to set up appointments, and his support worker would bring him to my space," she explained.
"To me, these interactions weren't just about sex, they were about helping him feel respected in a way that society often fails to do for people with disabilities."
Sex worker Nova Hawthorne believes the ban will limit choices and could affect the quality of life for those who seek sex work services. (Supplied: @soulvisionbranding)
Ms Hawthorne, who is also a social worker, noted that while not a significant number of NDIS participants used their funding for these services, to no longer have it as an option "sets a precedent".
"Many people with disabilities have to constantly advocate for their basic rights and services. To have something so personal and important as sexual intimacy impacted, that's really upsetting," Ms Hawthorne said.
"People with a disability are sexual beings."
"Sex is a human right. While it's not something that people should be entitled to, it's something adults should have the opportunity to seek out to feel human."
Mr Morton-Evans volunteers with Sydney not-for-profit Touching Base, a long-standing referral service that connects sex workers and people with disabilities.
He will typically receive five to six requests a day from clients looking for connection. Many of these clients are NDIS participants.
"We get clients from all genders, diverse backgrounds and ages. We often help older people, like those in their 70s or 80s, be matched with a sex worker."
He finds the work "highly gratifying".
"It's often the first time some of these clients have experienced intimacy. I would estimate at least 50 to 60 per cent of our clients would be impacted by the NDIS sex worker funding cut."
Disability Advocacy NSW's Mr Grierson believes Mr Shorten was likely "pushed by the moral police".
"Perhaps people and politicians sometimes need to put their fairly stringent moral ideas aside, and let people with a disability decide in all their different circumstances."
Mr Morton-Evans hopes people can try to put judgement aside and focus on the emotional impact that a service like sex work can provide.
"I think some able-bodied politicians can be quite narrow-minded towards issues that impact people with disabilities," he said.
"This conversation doesn't have to be salacious. I would like to see a more holistic approach taken and to focus on how disabled people can thrive instead of just survive."