National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1074
Submission: Impact of Proposed NDIS Changes on
The Minister can cut your plan by instrument, with no review (s 34A). A percentage of funding can be removed from a support category by legislative instrument. The first cut is locked in: social and community participation, phased in from 1 October 2026 as plans renew. The same power can apply to any support category to any level in future.
Who I Am
My name is , and I am the mother and legal guardian of , a 27-year-old non-speaking, profoundly Autistic man. I share legal guardianship with my wife, , following recent formal appointment. I am also the mother of , a 30-year-old Autistic man diagnosed with what was previously termed “high-functioning Autism”.
In addition to my role as ’s mother and guardian, I am a practising Occupational Therapist working within the NDIS sector. I support participants from birth through to older adulthood, primarily individuals with Autism and/or Intellectual Disability. My professional role is to build capacity, enable meaningful occupation, and support people with disability to live safe, purposeful, and connected lives. I work from the understanding that disability is lifelong, that support needs fluctuate, and that people require flexible, individualised assistance to participate in their communities and maintain quality of life.
I am writing this submission as ’s mother and guardian, and on behalf of him, to express deep concern about the proposed reduction of Social and Community Participation (SCP) funding under s 34A, which allows the Minister to reduce support categories by legislative instrument without review. These changes will have a devastating impact on ’s life, wellbeing, and future.
’s meaningful, engaging life — including his participation in the micro-enterprise Mow Your Own Future — has been built through years of effort, advocacy, and support from myself, his family, and his support network. The proposed cuts threaten to dismantle the only opportunities he has for genuine community participation, skill development, and purposeful daily activity.
Overview
This submission outlines how the proposed changes to NDIS funding structures—particularly those affecting Social and Community Participation and the ability to flexibly engage support workers for meaningful, capacity-building activities—will be detrimental to , a 27-year-old non-speaking Autistic man with lifelong, high support needs.
currently uses his Social and Community Participation funding to engage in a micro-enterprise, Mow Your Own Future, which he operates alongside his friend . This micro-business is only possible because both young men can use their NDIS funding to engage support workers who provide the hands-on assistance, communication support, safety supervision, and task-scaffolding required for them to work safely and successfully in the community.
The proposed changes would remove or significantly restrict the very supports that allow to participate meaningfully in his community, develop skills, and maintain a purposeful weekly routine.
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’s Disability and Functional Profile
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1074
is a non-speaking Autistic adult with substantial functional impairments across communication, executive functioning, planning, safety awareness, and adaptive behaviour. He requires:
• 1:1 support for all community access • Hands-on assistance for work tasks, tool use, and safety • Support to understand instructions, regulate emotions, and remain engaged • Assistance to communicate needs, preferences, and safety concerns • Environmental and behavioural support to prevent distress and dysregulation
Without structured, meaningful, supported activities, becomes highly dysregulated, withdrawn, and at risk of behavioural escalation.
- Current Supports: Why They Work
and run Mow Your Own Future three days per week. Their support workers enable them to:
• Travel safely to job sites • Communicate with customers • Use equipment safely • Follow routines and complete tasks • Build work stamina, confidence, and independence • Engage socially with community members • Maintain a predictable, meaningful weekly structure
This micro-business is not recreational. It is capacity building, skill development, community participation, and social inclusion in its purest form.
The remaining two days of the week, attends traditional day programs. These programs are passive, low-engagement, and do not build skills. often describes them (through behaviour and AAC) as “boring” or “waiting around”. They resemble babysitting, not capacity building.
The contrast is stark: On mowing days, is engaged, regulated, proud, and connected. On day-program days, he is passive, dysregulated, and unfulfilled.
- Impact of Proposed NDIS Changes
If the proposed changes remove or restrict ’s ability to use his funding for support workers to run his micro-business, the consequences will be severe:
Loss of Meaningful Participation
will lose the only activity in his week that provides:
• Purpose • Achievement • Community connection • Skill development • Identity and pride
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1074
Regression in Skills
The micro-business builds:
• Work stamina • Routine following • Social interaction • Emotional regulation • Communication attempts • Independence in familiar tasks
Removing this will lead to loss of capacity, not gain.
Increased Behavioural and Emotional Distress
Without meaningful engagement, is at high risk of:
• Dysregulation • Withdrawal • Escalation of behaviours of concern • Loss of routine and predictability • Increased reliance on restrictive environments
Reduced Community Visibility and Inclusion
The micro-business allows to be:
• Seen • Valued • Known in his community • Connected to neighbours and customers
Removing this pushes him back into segregated, low-expectation settings.
Increased Long-Term Costs to the NDIS
Loss of meaningful activity leads to:
• Increased support needs • Higher behavioural support requirements • Greater reliance on day programs • Potential need for clinical intervention
The micro-business is cost-effective, preventative, and capacity-building.
- Why the Micro-Business Must Be Protected
Mow Your Own Future is not a hobby. It is a lifeline.
It provides with:
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1074
• A sense of identity (“I work”) • Predictability and structure • Social connection • Physical activity • Skill development • Community belonging • Pride and self-worth
It also demonstrates the core purpose of the NDIS:
To support people with disability to participate socially and economically, build capacity, and live an ordinary life.
Restricting ’s ability to use his funding for this purpose contradicts the Scheme’s founding principles.
- Request to the NDIA
We request that the NDIA:
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Maintain ’s ability to use Social and Community Participation funding to engage support workers for his micro-business.
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Recognise micro-enterprises as legitimate, capacity-building, community-participation activities.
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Acknowledge the significant functional, emotional, behavioural, and social harm that would occur if these supports were removed.
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Ensure that funding flexibility remains so can continue to participate meaningfully in his community.
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Summary
The proposed NDIS changes would be detrimental to ’s wellbeing, development, and quality of life. His micro-business is the only part of his week that provides genuine engagement, skill development, and community inclusion. Removing the supports that make this possible would cause loss of capacity, increased behavioural risk, and significant decline in mental and emotional wellbeing.
The introduction of s 34A represents a significant departure from the founding principles of the NDIS. For participants like , the ability of the Minister to reduce support categories by legislative instrument — without review — poses a direct threat to their wellbeing, autonomy, and inclusion.
The Senate has a critical role in ensuring that reforms do not undermine the rights, dignity, and long-term outcomes of people with disability.
Protecting ’s ability to continue Mow Your Own Future is essential to safeguarding his rights, dignity, and long-term outcomes.