NDIA Accountability Project

Restrictions on self-management funding and choice of control

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THE SENATE

Standing Committee on Community Affairs

Legislation Committee

Submissions to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024 [Provisions]

The Community Affairs Legislation Committee received approximately 90 emails from individuals via an advocacy campaign administered by DoGooder.

The committee agreed to publish a sample of those emails.

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Australia

Dear Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee,

I am writing to share my concerns about the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.

The NDIS is very important to me. I am worried about the following parts of the Bill:

  • Reasonable and Necessary Budgets Changing from ‘reasonable and necessary supports’ to ‘reasonable and necessary budgets’ will limit the supports people can get. People need support to live an ordinary life.

  • Narrower Definition of Supports The new definition of supports are too narrow. It will exclude important supports that people need to be part of the community and achieve their goals.

  • Increased Powers for the NDIA The NDIA would have more power to make people undergo assessments or provide information. If people do not comply, their plans could be suspended or revoked. This could be very hard for people with disability, especially during a crisis or if we have complex needs.

  • Restrictions on Self-Managing and Plan-Managing Funding The NDIA could stop people from self-managing or plan-managing their funding if they have made mistakes before. This goes against the principle of choice and control.

Overall, I am worried that this Bill moves away from the original vision of the NDIS. The NDIS is meant to give people with disability choice and control over their supports. This Bill is more focused on saving money than helping people with disability.

I think the Bill should be paused or stopped. There should be real co-design with people with disability. We need changes that truly meet the needs of people with disability.

I urge the Committee to recommend significant changes to this Bill or making other moves to save money. There must be thorough consultation with people with disability and our representative organisations.

The NDIS is too important to get wrong. We must get this right, with people with disability at the centre of the process.

Thank you for considering my submission. I would be happy to provide more information if needed.

Yours sincerely, Hilary McPherson

This email was sent by Hilary McPherson via Do Gooder, a website that allows people to contact you regarding issues they consider important. In accordance with web protocol RFC 3834 we have set the

  • FROM field of this email to our generic no-reply address at campaigns@good.do, however Hilary provided an email address which we included in the REPLY-TO field.

Please reply to Hilary McPherson at

To learn more about Do Gooder visit https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogooder.co%2F&data=0 5%7C02%7Ccommunity.affairs.sen%40aph.gov.au%7C12e653f861d3418b87d508dca17e542d%7Cf62 14c153a9947d1b862c9648e927316%7C0%7C0%7C638562811150188459%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbG Zsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C %7Csdata=BTMyHtGa21418c0%2BQmisTQJwhii%2B3kOE3p%2FYVPAnEfY%3D&reserved=0 To learn more about web protocol RFC 3834 visit: hhttps://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftools.ietf.org%2Fhtml%2Frfc3 834&data=05%7C02%7Ccommunity.affairs.sen%40aph.gov.au%7C12e653f861d3418b87d508dca17e 542d%7Cf6214c153a9947d1b862c9648e927316%7C0%7C0%7C638562811150196641%7CUnknown %7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D% 7C0%7C%7C%7Csdata=nRE6K6APA5YimdEQaYNKB0jnRowktYbCTWOKzjKs%2BBM%3D&reserved=0

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Australia

Dear Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee,

I am writing to share my concerns about the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.

The NDIS is very important to me. I am worried about the following parts of the Bill:

  1. Reasonable and Necessary Budgets

Changing from ‘reasonable and necessary supports’ to ‘reasonable and necessary budgets’ will limit the supports people can get. People need support to live an ordinary life.

  1. Narrower Definition of Supports

The new definition of supports are too narrow. It will exclude important supports that people need to be part of the community and achieve their goals.

  1.  Increased Powers for the NDIA

The NDIA would have more power to make people undergo assessments or provide information. If people do not comply, their plans could be suspended or revoked. This could be very hard for people with disability, especially during a crisis or if we have complex needs.

  1.  Restrictions on Self-Managing and Plan-Managing Funding

The NDIA could stop people from self-managing or plan-managing their funding if they have made mistakes before. This goes against the principle of choice and control.

Overall, I am worried that this Bill moves away from the original vision of the NDIS. The NDIS is meant to give people with disability choice and control over their supports. This Bill is more focused on saving money than helping people with disability.

I think the Bill should be paused or stopped. There should be real co-design with people with disability. We need changes that truly meet the needs of people with disability.

I urge the Committee to recommend significant changes to this Bill or making other moves to save money. There must be thorough consultation with people with disability and our representative organisations.

The NDIS is too important to get wrong. We must get this right, with people with disability at the centre of the process.

Thank you for considering my submission. I would be happy to provide more information if needed.

This email was sent by Heidi Emery via Do Gooder, a website that allows people to contact you regarding issues they consider important. In accordance with web protocol RFC 3834 we have set the FROM field of this email to our generic no-reply address at campaigns@good.do, however Heidi provided an email address redacted which we included in the REPLY-TO field.

Please reply to Heidi Emery at

Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Australia

Dear Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee,

I am writing to share my concerns about the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Getting the NDIS Back on Track No. 1) Bill 2024.

The NDIS is very important to me. I am worried about the following parts of the Bill:

  • Reasonable and Necessary Budgets Changing from ‘reasonable and necessary supports’ to ‘reasonable and necessary budgets’ will limit the supports people can get. People need support to live an ordinary life.

  • Narrower Definition of Supports The new definition of supports are too narrow. It will exclude important supports that people need to be part of the community and achieve their goals.

  • Increased Powers for the NDIA The NDIA would have more power to make people undergo assessments or provide information. If people do not comply, their plans could be suspended or revoked. This could be very hard for people with disability, especially during a crisis or if we have complex needs.

  • Restrictions on Self-Managing and Plan-Managing Funding The NDIA could stop people from self-managing or plan-managing their funding if they have made mistakes before. This goes against the principle of choice and control.

Overall, I am worried that this Bill moves away from the original vision of the NDIS. The NDIS is meant to give people with disability choice and control over their supports. This Bill is more focused on saving money than helping people with disability.

I think the Bill should be paused or stopped. There should be real co-design with people with disability. We need changes that truly meet the needs of people with disability.

I urge the Committee to recommend significant changes to this Bill or making other moves to save money. There must be thorough consultation with people with disability and our representative organisations.

The NDIS is too important to get wrong. We must get this right, with people with disability at the centre of the process.

Thank you for considering my submission. I would be happy to provide more information if needed.

Yours sincerely, Karen Kline

This email was sent by Karen Kline via Do Gooder, a website that allows people to contact you regarding issues they consider important. In accordance with web protocol RFC 3834 we have set the

  • FROM field of this email to our generic no-reply address at campaigns@good.do, however Karen provided an email address which we included in the REPLY-TO field.

Please reply to Karen Kline at

To learn more about Do Gooder visit https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogooder.co%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ccommunity.affairs.sen%40aph.gov.au%7Cff787202a5e847c524ce08dca1f153d6%7Cf6214c153a9947d1b862c9648e927316%7C0%7C0%7C638563305065272442%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=fvCyNnw%2FHwPtUhdRf%2FPekX%2FnX7Q6psHlcht0DTFz7%2FU%3D&reserved=0 To learn more about web protocol RFC 3834 visit: hhttps://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftools.ietf.org%2Fhtml%2Frfc3834&data=05%7C02%7Ccommunity.affairs.sen%40aph.gov.au%7Cff787202a5e847c524ce08dca1f153d6%7Cf6214c153a9947d1b862c9648e927316%7C0%7C0%7C638563305065282255%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=zXXDg1%2FH23VtpNeJuFM9zOShkVIXd9hRWGl9SKgsYFc%3D&reserved=0