<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard Williams was a fit and active 65-year-old when he and his wife Lorraine set off on what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday cruise in Japan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard could never have predicted that a tiny slip would cause a life-altering accident, leaving him a quadriplegic.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the harrowing months after the accident, which happened in May last year, another small but crucial detail would end up blindsiding the Melbourne father.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-march-24-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/a6d7c67d-9a69-4279-88eb-985ccda7fb13"><strong><span>'Zombie' ships tracked in volatile shipping lane</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Because the accident happened just 16 days after his 65th birthday, it meant Howard isn't eligible for help under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), leaving the couple missing out on extra $220,000 a year needed to meet his basic support needs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead of the specialist support the NDIS offers, Howard said he was relegated to an aged care system designed for age-related frailty, not the complex, 24-hour medical requirements of a spinal cord injury.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><strong><span>The moment life changed</span></strong></h2></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/howard-was-left-a-quadriplegic-after-an-accident-in-japan-then-came-another-cruel-twist/b08cf44a-7030-4612-8fb1-7976a390d7ca" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard's accident occurred in the port city of Hakodate, in northern Japan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was the couple's final day in the country - their cruise ship was due to leave for Alaska in a matter of hours - and the pair were sightseeing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Walking along the Shichizai Bridge, which was narrow and crowded with both cars and pedestrians, Howard bumped into one of their travelling companions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I stopped to talk to my friend, and I just lost my balance," Howard said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I sort of stepped back, and unfortunately, the railing on the bridge was only 53 centimetres high, so it didn't really even go up to my knees." </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard fell three metres onto concrete, fracturing his C1, C4, and C5 vertebrae.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-crisis-australia-consumer-watchdog-monitoring-cost-domestic-flights-airfares-set-to-soar/1c463131-55ab-46d5-bc70-d09b5da33d26"><strong><span>Warning to airlines as domestic airfares set to soar</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When I landed, my limbs started tingling. I couldn't move. I couldn't raise my arms, so I knew something serious had happened," Howard said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>What followed the accident was a blur of sirens and frantic confusion. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was very traumatic," Lorraine said of being suddenly thrown into the hospital system in Japan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And very difficult with the language barrier. It was quite scary."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After having initial surgery in Japan, Howard was medically evacuated to Melbourne.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He then spent months in specialist rehab at The Royal Talbot as the reality of his "new life" set in - as did the reality of Australia's age threshold for disability support.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard was assessed and found to require 24-hour care, as he is unable to feed, dress, or shower himself without assistance.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>Sixteen days too late</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A social worker at The Royal Talbot broke the news that Howard had "aged out" of NDIS eligibility two weeks before his accident.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That was really a devastating shock to know that Howard wouldn't get the support that he needed," Lorraine said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard went back to living at home a few weeks ago, for the first time since his accident.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He is eligible for the highest level of funding under the federal government's new Support at Home program, at $73,000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While that amount may sound significant, Howard said the reality of living with quadriplegia meant it fell far short of meeting his bare minimum needs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attacks-iran-after-donald-trumps-48hour-deadline-iran-threatens-to-start-hitting-gulf-power-plants-and-mine-waters/d86936cf-ab6f-40ae-be34-efc1f0a60a98"><strong><span>Single Trump post sends oil prices tumbling</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard currently has two carers coming for two hours in the morning and another hour in the evening. Outside of those times, Lorraine, 70, is Howard's sole carer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She wakes at 3.00 AM every day to turn Howard to prevent pressure sores and acts as a second carer everyday and on weekends to avoid the "prohibitive" cost of caring staff.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I get angry that the government's done this," Lorraine said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The burden has been placed on me by the government because they are not providing the amount of support he needs. It's not right that a birth date determines the care you get."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The total cost of Howard's true needs sits at roughly $290,000 a year - a figure the couple simply cannot sustain.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Howard, who worked and paid taxes for over 40 years, describes the situation as blatant "age discrimination".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The situation has led to Lorraine starting a parliamentary petition last month calling on the government to remove the NDIS aged care limit for people with severe disabilities, which collected 4500 signatures.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If Howard had the accident when he was 64 and 10 months, everything would be totally different," Lorraine said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He would have the support he needs to live as normal a life as possible. Instead, we are left navigating a system that wasn't designed for us."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><strong><span>Growing calls for reform</span></strong></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The age limit for NDIS eligibility was one of the topics raised in The Aged Care Royal Commission, which handed down its findings in 2021.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of the final report's recommendations was that every person receiving aged care who is living with a disability should receive supports equivalent to those available under the NDIS.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Morrison Government said at the time it would further consider the recommendation as the Support At Home program was being developed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A government spokesperson said the NDIS and Support At Home were "two distinct and separate programs underpinned by different legislation, rules and funding considerations".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The NDIS supports eligible people who apply before age 65, while older Australians are supported through the aged care system," the spokesperson said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Support at Home provides aged care services based on the assessed ageing-related needs of the individual, regardless of their location, background and life experiences. This may include individuals who are living with disability."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Spinal Life Australia CEO Mark Townend says the Williams' story was a tragic example of a policy failure that remained unaddressed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Disability doesn't end at 65, but the funding does," Townend said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"People who acquire a disability later in life are forced into a system that simply wasn't designed for their needs. This isn't just unfair; it is discrimination embedded in policy. Access to the supports required to live safely and independently should be determined by need, not age."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Do you have a story? Contact reporter Emily McPherson at</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="mailto:EMcPherson@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title=""><em><strong><span>EMcPherson@nine.com.au</span></strong></em></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>