NDIA Accountability Project

This project is in DRAFT

Mental health impacts due to NDIS changes (Participant experience)

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National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1183

Most communication from NDIA is that changes are coming, but no clear details are being provided or the likely impacts on participants.

The lack of information from the NDIA regarding NDIS changes, especially for:

 Will my mental health disability still mean I have funding for NDIS support?  Which supports and services will be funded?  Whether funding for existing supports and services will be reduced or removed?

This has led to extreme uncertainty that changes will affect me as a participant. The uncertainty adds unnecessary stress that negatively affects my mental health.

There is conflicting information appearing in news reports that also doesn’t help the uncertain situation, whether I will have support in the future and the impact on my mental health.

One of the major changes is the definition of “permanence”:

 Who defines “permanence”?  What does that mean for people currently on NDIS?  Who is deciding these changes?  Are long-term consequences being considered on the possible negative impact these changes will have on participants?

Another key point is that participants could be expected to try all “available” treatments before being considered for NDIS:

 Who defines all available treatments?  How much does your mental health deteriorate while trying to access or pay for these undefined treatments?

Services or treatments cannot be considered “available” if they are financially out of my reach and/or people, including myself, must sacrifice other necessities like food, heating, housing or face isolation. In regional areas, “available” means travelling hundreds of kilometres, or further if living in a remote area.

Regional and remote areas also have other factors that would impact “available” treatments, which I also strongly feel need to be addressed before any changes can be made to the NDIS:

 Limited services  Services at capacity – not taking on any new referrals  Long waiting lists and extended wait times  Regional hospitals are only campuses  Access within the local area or travelling to Perth 400kms away

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1183

If my capacity and core supports were reduced or removed, I would not survive. My NDIS is vitally important to me as a participant and helps me for the following reasons:

  1. Negative impacts on my mental health, which has been adversely aƯected in the past to the point of 2 suicide attempts while under the care/assessment of the public mental health system

  2. The support I have received from my NDIS plan has allowed me to thrive, not just barely survive. Before my NDIS plan, there were various and substantial areas impacted by extremely poor mental health  Not getting to medical appointments  Not taking prescribed medication  Not following the doctor’s advice regarding general and mental health  Not getting out of bed for days on end  No self-care – not eating and not showering  Not taking care of my home and garden  Being isolated from family and friends

  3. No informal supports  My family live 400kms away  My friends live 400kms away  My teenage daughter lives with her father and any quality contact time with her is irregular even though I am supposed to see her alternate weekends and half the school holidays  When I do have time with my parents, my time with them is limited due to the distance, and they are 79 and 80

  4. Both direct and indirect costs of accessing and paying for mental health services and treatment  AƯordability - limited income on a disability pension  Access to already overburdened services  Waiting times  Services at capacity  Limited services available  Ongoing medication costs  Psychologists’ costs and availability  Psychiatrists’ costs and availability  Minimal rebates under Medicare  Minimal number of appointments covered by mental health care plans  Out-of-pocket expenses not covered by private health insurance  Can’t claim through private health insurance as covered by Medicare  Caps on the amount that can be claimed through private health insurances  Travel costs if not available in the local area

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1183

 Disrupting children’s schooling to travel for appointments  Pets that need to be boarded while away

  1. Distrust of community mental health services  As they have misdiagnosed me / and not assessed me properly  They were too impersonal to listen to me  They were trying to assess other people and me during short sessions, i.e. an hour, and for limited sessions, i.e. six (6)  Under increasing pressure due to high demands  Prioritising high-risk patients and patients at risk, while their deteriorating mental health is overlooked and minimised  They did not properly assess and address my needs

  2. Continuity of care is important. It also means not being continually re-traumatised by starting over with services or providers and being past-focused instead of moving forward. Building relationships with my NDIS Support Workers has helped me to increase my capacity to have trust, stability, and routines in my day-to-day life - helping me to thrive and live the life I chose.

  3. Not being able to choose my independent/self-employed support people, as they will all either have to bear unrealistic costs to continue as registered providers or leave the industry. This would have adverse eƯects for several reasons:  Reduce supporting my individual needs and preferences  Times being set by providers, not myself  Increase my stress and anxiety from ad hoc timetables and scheduling  No continuity of care  Increase my stress and anxiety from being around strangers constantly  Who I’m dealing with in my home  Stress will then be placed on large organisations to cover a huge departure of independent support workers

  4. Major changes that severely decrease my access or remove my NDIS support would mean that I could not fund either the mental health services or the support I need and rely on to survive. It would be financially impossible for me to pay for these services while maintaining a basic standard of living. It will also mean I become isolated, as my family and friends are 400 kms away.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1183

  1. It would also mean that I am at risk of being placed into an already overburdened mental health system, facing critical challenges with the current number of people seeking help, which I strongly feel has almost cost me my life in the past.

  2. Instead of penalising the participants, I feel strongly that stamping out serious breaches and fraudulent behaviours with NDIS funding would make the system fairer to all who rely on NDIS for their existence and quality of life.