24 April 2026
Joint Standing Committee into the NDIS Department of the Senate PO Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA
Dear Committee Chair and members
Submission to the Integrity of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Inquiry
National Disability Research Partnership
The National Disability Research Partnership (NDRP) is pleased to provide this brief submission to your inquiry specifically responding to term of reference number 3 “The effectiveness and adequacy of successive government policies to improve scheme integrity, safeguard participants, and tackle non-compliance”
The NDRP is an independent, disability led, not-for-profit charitable organisation which has been funded $13.6 million over 3 years from 2024-2027 by the Australian government. The NDRP as a key initiative of Australia’s Disability Strategy to facilitate collaborative and inclusive disability research, to create the evidence for better policy and practice for people with disability in Australia.
More information about the NDRP is provided in the Appendix to this letter.
Key issues:
What governments are grappling with
- Evidence gaps - Limited, decision-ready evidence on what delivers measurable outcomes for people with disability, at scale.
- Rights and obligations - Difficulty embedding lived experience consistently in policy design, co-design, and implementation.
- Fiscal pressure - Need to progress long-term disability reform within tight budget cycles.
- Intergovernmental - Shared responsibilities across jurisdictions, portfolios, and systems make alignment on direction complex. Responding to the depth of recommendations from Disability Royal Commission and independent NDIS Review with shared responsibilities across governments.
Email: info@ndrp.org.au Phone: 03 9000 3813 www.ndrp.org.au
What the NDRP does differently
- Research for change - Research funded with policy and program decision points in mind, focusing on practical options for change.
- Inclusive research, not token consults - People with disability shape priorities, methods, and findings, strengthening relevance and legitimacy.
- Trusted, independent broker - Brings together government, community, and researchers to set agendas and interpret evidence.
- Clear, accessible and contemporary - evidence is mobilised into timely, brief-ready insights for live policy questions
Inclusive disability research underway
The NDRP has invested in the following inclusive research funding:
- in 2025 the NDRP funded $900,000 research projects on the topic of safety of people with
disability:
- 13 projects to co-design future research proposals
- 2 projects to co-design evidence synthesis
- In 2026 the NDRP is funding $5 million into research as follows
- Safety of people with disability – open research
- Safety of people with disability – targeted research on pathways to elimination of restrictive practices
- Accessible and inclusive communities – open research
Need for significant uplift in inclusive disability research funding
The scale of investment in inclusive disability research is insufficient to understand the effectiveness and adequacy of successive government policies to improve NDIS integrity, safeguard participants, and tackle non-compliance in its entirety.
Despite the extensive funding provided by governments to the NDIS, there has not been the corresponding scale of investment into research compared to other research funding schemes, including health and medical research. Much of the existing health and medical research remains focused on diagnosis, treatment and clinical outcomes, and does not sufficiently address the systemic, policy and service design issues that underpin safety, quality and effectiveness in people’s everyday lives. On its own, health and medical research does not provide governments with the system-level evidence needed to design, implement and regulate effective policy, funding and service delivery across complex disability systems, including the NDIS.
For example, the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is a research fund set up by the Australian Government in 2015. In September 2025, it grew to $24.83 billion. The net interest from the fund pays for health and medical research projects, of around $1 billion per annum.
The Australian Government has formed the NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee (EAC) which will advise government on which supports are suitable for NDIS funding based on reviews of existing evidence, if it exists or is at the quality to guide decision making.
Whilst incredibly important research funding schemes, neither the MRFF or the National Health and Medical Research Council are established to undertake primary disability research (outside the health system), or NDIS related research.
Recommendation
The initial investment of $13.5 million in the NDRP for inclusive disability research is an important foundation. However, there needs to be significantly greater and sustained investment in inclusive disability research to ensure disability reform is guided by robust evidence, grounded in the lived experiences of people with disability. the NDRP is uniquely positioned, to scale inclusive disability research in Australia because of our strong bipartisan support, deep trust across the disability community and government, and a clear mandate to fund and mobilise research by and with people with disability.
We would welcome providing more information to the Committee if required.
Yours sincerely
Mary Sayers Chief Executive Officer National Disability Research Partnership
Appendix: About the National Disability Research
The National Disability Research Partnership (NDRP) is funded by the Australian Government and is a key initiative of Australia’s Disability Strategy. Our vision is policy and practice in Australia are transformed by disability-led research. Our guiding principles are to:
- Advance high-quality research that informs disability policy and practice in Australia
- Value the knowledge of people with disability in research
- Strengthen disability research capacity
- Share research findings widely in useful and accessible ways.
Strategic focus areas
Build a sustainable foundation.
- Engage, collaborate and build long term partnerships
- Secure ongoing funding and support for the NDRP as an enduring enabler for disability led and inclusive research, strengthening capacity and evidence to action
Fund research done by and with people with disability.
- Fund research aligned to the NDRP research agenda
- Partner with governments and other external agencies to fund and commission research guided by the research agenda
- Monitor and evolve the NDRP research agenda over time with people with disability and their representative organisations
Strengthen disability research capacity.
- Advocate for, facilitate, and fund initiatives to increase the pool of researchers with disability
- Foster institutional and systemic enablers for disability led and inclusive research
- Enhance capacity for disability led and inclusive research
Mobilise evidence for action.
- Improve the accessibility and availability of evidence related to disability
- Strengthen capacity for the use of evidence in policy and practice.
Key initiatives
1. Funding research led by and with people with disability
Governments are under pressure to bring the growth of the NDIS onto a sustainable fiscal path. Delivering this shift requires strong evidence – about what works, what delivers value, and what to scale. This evidence does not yet exist at the scale or quality required to deliver this outcome.
Therefore, the NDRP Board decided to prioritise research the topic of safety of people with disability and on accessible and inclusive communities.
We know the 5.5 million people with disability in Australia, rely on accessible and inclusive communities to thrive, however the focus on the NDIS as the main area for support has led to significant challenges for government.
The NDRP’s significant investment in research on the safety of people with disability will support responses to the Disability Royal Commission and safety and integrity of the NDIS for people with disability.
The NDRP is also partnering with government on a commissioned research program on improving transitions to careers for young people with disability who have youth employment support in their NDIS plan.
2. Research capacity strengthening
In addition to funding research by and with people with disability and aligned to our Research Agenda and guiding principles, we are investing a range of initiatives to strengthen disability research capacity and ensuring people with disability co-design research, are supported in their research careers so we can build the next generation of researchers and Citizen Researchers. We support all our funded initiatives through peer supports, connections and professional development through our communities of practice.
Citizen Researcher Essentials – National Training Program
The “Citizen Researcher Essentials: A Short Course” developed by Griffith University introduces essential research knowledge and skills to individuals interested in actively participating in the research process, particularly people with disability. Upon completion participants receive a micro-credential for their qualification.
The new partnership between Griffith University NDRP enables the course to be further developed, evaluated and offered on a national scale.
Disability Research Leadership Program
The NDRP has established the Disability Research Leadership Program to recognise and support emerging and early-career researchers with disability. Too often, talented students and researchers with disability miss out on career pathways and leadership opportunities because universities tend not to recognise disability as a strength. This is a lost opportunity for universities and the research community.
This program addresses these gaps with flexible financial support tailored to your individual needs. It connects peers and creates opportunities for professional development and leadership growth.
The first intake currently underway supports 15 students with disability undertaking a Master’s by Research or PhD through with $30,000 of support for each student to support them in their studies and professional development. The second intake of the program will be for post-doctoral fellowships, to be launched later.
3. Evidence to Action
The NDRP’s Evidence to Action program curates inclusive events to bring together the disability community, Disability Representative Organisations, Disabled Persons Organisations, researchers, service providers and policy makers including government. The events explore evidence, identify research and evidence gaps, build connections and discuss barriers to applying evidence.
We also support our funded research teams to consider impact and mobilising knowledge at the start of the research project rather than at the end.