National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1088
27.05.2025
Re: NDIS Amendment Bill
Dear Committee,
I am writing as a family member, friend, ally and a clinician expressing my concerns of the NDIS amendment bill. I am a Paramedic in WA, and as part of my role come across many NDIS users. Most often, this is due to a gap in support, care needs, or health care access. I am not trained as a support worker, care coordinator, or in many of the allied health areas users may require, but I do my best to fill this gap when the lack of support leads to emergency ambulance attendance. Sometimes, a lack of support means the only safe option is to transport these people to hospital.
My main concerns are reduced access, reduced access to support, lack of individualised plans and lack of choice and autonomy for users. I already see so many NDIS users struggling with their available support to the point they have no choice but to resort to emergency services, another health area already struggling under demand. I worry how many more individuals will be prevented from accessing necessary support, taking away autonomy, dignity and leading to further downstream health issues.
The changes proposed take a simplified view of disability, when we know that needs are highly individual, changing with comorbidities and life circumstances. Needs fluctuate and increase at unpredictable times - this is often when I meet NDIS users. Restricting reassessment and decreasing flexibility in times of crisis or changing circumstances is unjust.
Reducing choice of providers removes autonomy and self determination. By far the best support worker I have ever come across in my career was a private provider, who provided excellent culturally safe care to a man whose support needs had increased. If it was not for this individual being able to attend to a patient at very late notice, the only other option would have been to transport this patient to hospital - where he medically did not need to be, but because of lack of support would have been the only safe place.
One of the reasons I chose to become a paramedic, was to provide care to those who ‘fall through the gaps’ of other services. We are often the first point of contact with individuals who, without appropriate access to services and support, find themselves in need of unscheduled urgent or emergency care. While I love providing this care and bridging this healthcare gap, it is endlessly frustrating to see the same preventable problems again and again. Disabled people should be able to fully participate in life and their communities, and the NDIS should provide safe and equitable support to enable this. These changes not only cause concern for the safety, autonomy, dignity, and health of disabled people - it will not save money, but merely push costs to other already struggling areas of the health system.
I believe the bill in its current form is harmful, and should not be passed by parliament.
Sincerely,