Dylan Alcott: Australian of the Year calls for people with disability to be given free rapid antigen tests

The new Australian of the Year, Dylan Alcott, has joined calls for people with disability to be given free rapid antigen tests, arguing it would help them take part in society as the country opens up.

Alcott, a tennis champion and the first person with a visible disability to be awarded the gong, also used his acceptance speech on Tuesday night to emphasise the importance of fully funding the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS).

After Guardian Australia reported many people with disability were receiving no federal support for rapid tests, the Morrison government this week announced it would allow NDIS participants to dip into their core funding to buy the devices.

But the decision was met with a mixed response because, although participants would no longer be out of pocket, they would be required to use funding otherwise allocated for support.

On Wednesday, Alcott expanded on his call for free tests for people with disability in an interview on ABC Radio National.

Labor has called for free rapid tests for all under the Medicare system, but the government has rejected the idea. Instead, it has created a scheme that allows concession card holders to obtain 10 free tests over three months from pharmacies. About 18% of NDIS participants are ineligible for the scheme.

Last week, Guardian Australia revealed that while NDIS participants living in group homes and their providers could claim the cost of Rats, those residing in their own homes could not.

Among them is Carolyn Campbell-McLean, who has a form of muscular dystrophy that means she is unable to cough or blow her nose by herself. She told Guardian Australia she had already spent $1,300 on rapid tests for her support workers.

Another man, Max Burt, who had spent about $1,000 on rapid tests for his support workers, noted access was still an issue. Some people with disability were unable to shop around at pharmacies to find one with tests in stock.