National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1142
Submission to the Senate Inquiry Proposed Changes to the NDIS
Name: Location: Wollongong, NSW Relationship to Participant: Parent and primary carer
In the interests of transparency, I note that I am a Board Member of Interchange Illawarra, a disability support organisation. This submission is not made in that capacity, nor is it made on behalf of Interchange Illawarra.
Introduction I am writing as the mother of a 17-year-old NDIS participant to express my deep concern regarding proposed changes to NDIS funding, specifically any reductions to community access supports.
For my son, and for our family, community access funding is not a luxury. It is essential for safety, inclusion, wellbeing, and economic participation. Any reduction to this support would have profound and far-reaching consequences.
About My Son My son, , is the eldest of my three children. He has Level 3 Autism, moderate intellectual disability, and ADHD. He requires 1:1 support in the community to ensure his safety and wellbeing.
Despite these challenges, is a fit, healthy, and vibrant young man. Like any teenager, he thrives on connection, routine, and meaningful activity in his community.
The Role of Community Access Funding Community access funding through the NDIS has been life-changing for .
Each weekday afternoon, whilst I manage the very typical demands of parenting, driving my younger two children to their activities…Girl Guides, tennis, football, and basketball… is able to participate in activities of his own through the support of his NDIS plan’s community access funding and the support workers who are employed through that.
Rather than languishing in the car whilst I ferry his neurotypical siblings through their busy lives, attends ten-pin bowling leagues multiple times per week (he’s quite a star!), he goes hiking through rainforests, indoor rock climbing, to the movies, and many other activities.
Importantly, these activities also offer crucial opportunities for personal development as his support workers support him to verbally communicate with venue staff to make purchases, use his debit card, and to look after his belongings in the process.
These experiences are therefore not just recreational. They are critical to his: • Social development • Physical health • Emotional wellbeing • Sense of identity and belonging
Quite simply, is living his best life because of community access funding.
The Importance of Consistent, Skilled Support
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1142
’s support is provided through Interchange Illawarra, an NDIS registered disability support organisation that has worked with our family since 2017.
This long-term relationship matters. Through it, support workers: • Understand ’s communication style, needs, and triggers • Receive ongoing training and upskilling • Build genuine, trusting relationships with him
Importantly, his support workers are young, energetic, and very deliberately (no uniforms) present as peers when they are out in the community. They ‘blend in’ as mates, allowing to participate with dignity and without stigma.
This is exactly what the NDIS was designed to achieve, true inclusion.
Impact on Families and Workforce Participation Community access funding does not just support participants, it enables families to function. As a single mother of three children, the support receives allows me to work and financially support my family.
This issue is not theoretical for us, it is immediate and pressing.
is in his final year of school and will finish at the end of this year. When that happens, the structured hours currently provided by the school system will end.
Without adequate community access funding in his NDIS plan: • cannot safely be left at home alone • He will require full-time supervision during business hours • I will have no choice but to reduce my work significantly or leave employment altogether
This is a very real and looming outcome for our family.
The continuation of my employment is directly dependent on continuing to receive appropriate community access supports.
Economic Consequences of Funding Cuts Reducing community access funding will not result in true cost savings. Instead, it will: • Force carers, predominantly women, out of the workforce • Reduce income tax contributions • Increase reliance on income support payments • Potentially increase long-term health and crisis support costs due to participant isolation
In my case, the Government risks losing a full-time taxpayer at the exact point my caring responsibilities increase due to my son leaving school.
This represents a false economy.
Investment in community access supports: • Sustains workforce participation • Supports informal carers • Reduces long-term system costs
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1142
Looking Ahead: Transition to Adulthood is in his final year of school, making this a critical transition period. As he exits the structure of the education system, community access supports will become even more important to: • Provide daily structure and routine • Maintain skills and prevent regression • Enable ongoing participation in the community • Ensure I can remain in the workforce as his primary carer
Reducing supports at this stage would not only impact ’s wellbeing, but would also directly affect my capacity to remain employed and financially independent.
Community access supports are fundamental to achieving the core objectives of the NDIS: • Inclusion • Participation • Independence • Dignity
For my son, this support is the difference between a life of isolation and dependence, and a life of participation, connection, and joy.
I strongly urge the Senate to reject any reductions to community access funding, and consider strengthening and expanding access to these supports instead.
Because for participants like , community access is not optional, it is essential.
Without community access funding, my son loses his world, and I lose my livelihood.