National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1185
NDIS Future Generations Bill 2026
Submission for parliamentary committee
26 May 2026
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1185
I am the mother of a 27-year-old woman who has multiple significant disabilities. She has had these conditions her entire life and she will live with them for the rest of her life.
NDIS
The NDIS has been life-changing for both my daughter and our family. We joined the NDIS in 2019 and the impact it has had on us all is profound. The scheme certainly has faults and is clearly the victim of some who see it as a ‘bottomless pit of money’, but the benefits it provides to those who live with disability is beyond what we could have hoped for, for our daughter and for us.
I can see the need for reform, but I despair at the proposed cuts to funded participants’ plans. I also have grave concerns about the government’s desire to rush the Bill through parliament to be passed into legislation. There has been insufficient time or planning by the government to thoroughly explore the implications and impacts of the proposed changes in the Bill on the lives of people with disability.
I believe there has been insufficient consultation with people with disability and their families – the one’s who are directly affected by the proposed changes. For my daughter, the proposed changes will again be life-changing, but not in a positive way.
50% cut to Social and Community Participation
The proposed 50% cut to Social and Community Participation funding as early as October 2026, is of major concern. She has no ability or capacity to participate in social and community interactions without support. She is unable to use public transport, manage her finances or communicate her needs independently. She will no longer be able to attend her day programme from Monday to Friday. She will become even more isolated than she is already. If there is concern regarding the over-spending of Social and Community Participation funding, then spend the time investigating these issues before coming in and cutting funding without care or consideration of those it will impact negatively. Only a handful of participants are taking advantage of their plans. There are rogue service providers who take advantage of people with disability who have limited advocacy or administrative support, who have rorted this system. We see examples of this every day in the media. People with disability have the same right to live a social life as every other person in Australia. By cutting this funding, you will essentially penalise the most vulnerable people in our country. Imagine if the ordinary worker was suddenly told you can’t come to work anymore on 2 ½ days of the week, with no compensation or alternative as there is no money. At least the ordinary worker would be able to receive a top up from Jobseeker. Our people with disability don’t receive enough Disability Support Pension to pay for support workers at a rate of $70 per hour!
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1185
Requirement for independent support workers to register with NDIS
We have a self-managed plan that enables us to engage independent support workers. This has also removed significant stress and workload from our family as we no longer have to deal with service providers who have very poor communication, lack understanding of our needs, have significant errors in invoicing and generally lack compassion. Our support workers have been essential and vital in alleviating the workload of caring for someone with a disability and for the Bill to propose that these independent workers now are required to register, this adds significant burden to their already heavy workload and onerous role. I fear that we will lose quality support workers due to the burden and bureaucratic requirements of registration.
The rights of people with disability
The ability to participate and experience life as any other 27-year-old can, is my daughter’s right. It is not a privilege. Every person with a disability deserves to live a life of social and community inclusion and should not be penalised by poor management of government and government agencies.
The NDIS was designed to give people with disability choice and control over their ‘reasonable and necessary’ supports to live a full and as independent a life as possible. It is truly possible that the government grossly underestimated the costs in the first place when designing the scheme. A blanket cut to funding, increases in eligibility requirements and loss of rights for review may fix the budget of this scheme, but will literally ruin the lives of the people it was designed to support.
I implore the government to reconsider passing this Bill without further careful and considered investigation and consultation with those that it will affect the most.
Please listen to the people who have provided submissions. They have taken the time out of their exhausted lives to do so. Do not dismiss these pleas for fairness and compassion.
Thank you for reading this submission.