National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1253
To Whom It May Concern,
I oppose the NDIS future generations Bill 2026 as tabled to parliament as it will be harmful for me.
My name is I am an NDIS participant living with a complex disability. I was born with a neurological disorder which leaves me with a severe intellectual disability, epilepsy, sleep apnoea and a physical disability. I am also legally blind, incontinent, have generalised anxiety disorder, have severe self harming behaviours and am non-verbal.
To keep me safe, to avoid injury and alive I require someone with me at all times when I am awake and within metres when I sleep. I need 1:1 support and cannot share support at any time.
How the proposed Social and community funding cuts by 50% will affect me; Loss of connection to the community; I am a very friendly lady who likes to get out into the community. I have been working with my supports for years to foster and develop relationships and friendships in my community. I need support to do this and to help me communicate using my communication book.
Without the support I will lose access to the community. Due to my intellectual disability and vision impairment I cannot go anywhere on my own. I have no sense of danger and am a falls risk.
Social isolation; I will have to remain home for greater periods of time. This will cause a significant increase to my self-harming behaviours and mental health.
My severe intellectual disability means I do not have the capacity to understand change and changes to set routines.
Decrease in overall function; I am an ambulant wheelchair user due to my physical disability, low stamina and falls risk. I cannot push my own wheelchair and need a support worker for this.
Without the funding to access the community I will not be able to go to hydrotherapy to keep me mobile and safe as I cannot swim and have no sense of danger and will enter water.
I also won’t be able to practice skills (such as ordering food, waiting my turn, and personal space boundaries).
An increase to self harming behaviours; I had a recent 50% cut in funding for social and community and my self-harming behaviours have already increased significantly. A further cut leaves me at risk of injury. My self-harming behaviours have already led to me losing vision permanently in one eye and reduced vision in the other due to multiple surgeries. It is expected that I will lose all vision at some point in the future. Support in place will prolong this happening.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1253
I have been working with my neurologist and behaviour support specialist to avoid medication that is considered a chemical restraint. My neurologist has said that if my behaviours of concern escalate I will need to start restrictive medication.
Lack of access to essential care; If I do not have the funding I will not be able to access appointments, order and pick up my medication or shop for essential items such as food. Loss of known supports; I cannot be supported by people who do not know me. It is vital that l have support workers who know me well. It takes a lot of time and hours for my parents to train support workers.
If my social and community funding is reduced my support workers have indicated that they may need to look for work elsewhere and are likely to leave the industry to find stability.
Extreme carer burnout; At the moment my mum and dad (when he is not working) provide me with most of my support and we need a break from each other. A 26 year old lady should have the choice as to how much time she would like to spend with her parents! Mum and dad are already in burnout and my dependence on them will increase.
When I am out and about in the community they use the time to do things they cannot do while I am home. This includes the extra washing and cleaning due to my disability, making appointments for me, making my visuals and keeping them clean and sanitary and cooking (as this is a trigger for my self-harming). My mum works in a very limited capacity and will have to leave the workforce entirely if I lose my funding. This will put an even further strain on finances.
Additionally; When I am out and about in the community I am practicing skills.
The media have reported that community access is all about getting coffee and sitting at a cafe (I don’t even like coffee!). For me this is time for me to;
· Planning- choosing where I am going to go
· Planning- choosing what I want to order
· Ordering- practicing my communication, using skills of daily living such as paying for food/items.
· Social etiquette- waiting, using cutlery, sitting at a table, personal space
· Fostering relationships and developing communication
I also oppose the following;
· The criteria around permanence and “appropriate treatments†. It is the responsibility of my medical and therapy teams to determine what treatments are appropriate based on my disabilities and individual circumstances.
· The new functional capacity test and reassessment of all participants. The new functional capacity test is not broad enough and I will be disadvantaged based on the questions being asked. I have been disabled since I was born and having to be reassessed for eligibility is not fair and will cost me money for updated reports and make it harder to get appointments with my specialists for care.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1253
I am asking you to oppose/vote against the NDIS Future Generations Bill as this will place me in harm’s way and will increase my risk of Injury and/or death. Paid supports (as in NDIS supports) are not optional for me. I need them to live.
From,