COLAC people with a disability could be the first to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The State Government has recommended Colac and the Barwon region as a trial area for the Federal Government scheme that would provide lifetime care and support for people with a disability.

But the Commonwealth will have the final say on where the trial will take place.

Colac Otway Disability Accommodation chief executive officer Jacqueline Suares said she would welcome the Barwon region’s inclusion in the scheme’s trial.

“We would be very excited, it would be such a wonderful boost to people with a disability and their families,” Mrs Suares said.

“People are waiting years and years for equipment, the system is broken and it has to be fixed,” she said.

Mrs Suares also has a child with a disability and she said the NDIS would provide certainty for her family.

“It would just give us that sense of security,” she said.

Colac Specialist School paramedical team leader Robyn Perrin said the NDIS was a much-needed reform.

“It’ll take the financial pressures off having a family member with a disability,” Ms Perrin said.

“It’ll just streamline services that are quite disjointed,” she said.

Ms Perrin said she welcomed Colac’s inclusion in the government’s bid for the trial.

“It would be great if it could start tomorrow, because there’s 12 months more of waiting,” she said.

“That’s 12 months more pressure on people with a disability and their families.”

State Community Services Minister Mary Wooldridge said the Colac Otway, Surf Coast, Geelong and Queenscliffe council areas were part of the Barwon area’s launch bid.

“It meets all the criteria for launch sites,” Ms Wooldridge said.

“It is a geographically discrete area with a good mix of population, both metropolitan and regional locations and a highly developed service sector,” she said.

The Federal Government has committed $1 billion to the scheme, which will start as a trial at four locations mid-2013.