National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1067
Submission to the Inquiry: National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
This submission is made by a person with lived experience as a nominee of a family member (sister) with complex psychosocial and physical disability, trauma, and the NDIS access process.
Summary This proposed Bill, if enacted as drafted, will have devastating effects on people who live with life- changing disabilities. The proposed Bill requires amendments:
- Acknowledgement that a permanent disability can also be progressive so that over a lifetime a participant may require an increase in supports.
- For some participants, particularly those on Disability Support Pensions, the requirement to exhaust “every available and appropriate treatment” may not be realistic, either financially or due to location.
- Acknowledgement that both physical and psychosocial disabilities are often linked so supports for both are crucial.
- Acknowledgement that social connections are essential. Cutting funding for social contact would lead to further isolation of those already struggling.
- Timely and appropriate response to appeals and requests for change.
- The proposed Bill risks the same catastrophic errors and results as Robodebt.
Introduction I am a nominee for someone who has been on the NDIS for seven years. Her plan’s funding was cut in June 2025 and since then a rejected appeal in June 2025 was escalated to ART which has now scheduled a meeting for June 1. This has been twelve months of stress and difficulty for both me as nominee and the recipient who has expressed suicidal ideology due to the circumstances. No one should be placed in this position.
My experience, and those of the participant is, I believe, representative of many in the NDIS who face daily trauma due to permanent and often progressive physical and psychosocial issues, service inaccessibility and bureaucracy.
How the Bill will affect people currently on, or wishing to join the NDIS The Bill would require applicants to “exhaust every available and appropriate treatment” before being eligible.
Often a specialist will not even see a new client unless they have Private Health Cover, and anyway, the cost of these services cannot be borne by anyone on a Disability Support Pension and the public health system does not afford timely access to many services. Therefore, meeting this requirement would be impossible for many.
How this affects my experience
My sister has bi-polar, depression, advanced arthritis, and extreme scoliosis. Back surgery was ruled out due to the condition of her bones. Her arthritis, together with her scoliosis, has resulted in foot deformities resulting in sores that have taken over 2 years to heal. Her scoliosis means that she has bed sores. Her funding for nursing and dressings was cut so now she must hobble to her GP (when she can get an appointment) for the practice nurse to change dressings. This can only be done on days when she has a support worker. This may sound like a minor issue, but when one cannot wear shoes
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National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1067
(which she has not been able to for over 2 years) and the sores on your feet are not covered, it is both a mental and health issue. Being unable to leave home lends to more isolation.
The Bill appears to favour single assessments by government- appointed providers. Issues with this are three-fold:
- Availability of said providers. It is not realistic to assume these will be available when required.
- They would not have the cumulative picture of possibly years of experience of the participant’s situation. A point-in-time assessment cannot address multiple issues.
- Wouldn’t this simply be replicating already provided diagnoses and therefore be a waste of NDIS money? As an example, my sister suffers from both psychosocial and physical disabilities, and she is extremely embarrassed by her physical appearance due to her condition. She will verbally try to say she is more capable than she is. A point-in-time appraisal would assess her needs incorrectly.
The Bill risks ignoring the way multiple, intersecting impairments combine to affect disability.
For example, my sister suffers from both psychosocial and physical disabilities. I fail to see how the Bill in its current form satisfactorily addresses this.
Risk of harm – “Robodebt 2.0?”
We all know that Robodebt cost lives and ruined many more. This Bill risks repeating those mistakes. This Bill’s rigid requirements will inevitably lead to the exclusion of many vulnerable people. The NDIS should be a system that helps, not punishes the vulnerable.
Addressing the problem Recommendations:
- Ensure realistic treatment options are included in the Bill.
- Emphasise lived experience and require NDIS decision makers to provide clear reasons when departing from treating evidence.
- Ensure participants with complex support needs are exempt from arbitrary funding reductions.
- Maintain access to social and community participation supports that prevent isolation, deterioration and mental health decline.
- Provide sufficient resources to allow timely processing of change-of-circumstance requests and appeals.
- Explicitly state that the NDIS must show compassion when dealing with participants and applicants.
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