National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1256
To Whom It May Concern,
I oppose the NDIS future generations Bill 2026 as tabled to parliament.
My name is . I am the parent of a 26 year old daughter with a complex disability. She has been an NDIS participant since her first plan in 2017 when the NDIS was rolled out into our area. She has a severe intellectual disability, epilepsy, sleep apnoea and a physical disability. is legally blind, incontinent, has generalised anxiety disorder, has severe self harming behaviours and is non-verbal. She lives in the family home with her dad and I.
How the proposed Social and community funding cuts by 50% will affect
Loss of connection to the community;
This has taken years to foster and develop and is a valued member of the community. She accesses the community with her support workers who support her to communicate with the people that she meets.
She uses alternative communication that requires a trained support worker to act as a communication partner so that she can actively engage. Without the support she will not be able to access the community and communicate. The nature of her disability means she will always need someone with her to keep her safe, prevent falls and to prevent injury or death.
Social isolation;
will be forced to remain home for greater periods of time. She is a 26 year old woman who enjoys being social. Social isolation will have a negative effect on her mental health leading to increased behaviours of concern. severe intellectual disability results in her not having the capacity to understand change and changes to set routines.
Decrease in overall function;
is an ambulant wheelchair user. She requires support to push her wheelchair and for when she is ambulant due to her lack of vision, low stamina and falls risk. Without the funding to access the community she will not be able to keep up with her hydrotherapy as she requires
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1256
a support worker with her at all times (she cannot swim and has no sense of danger) and she will lose her mobility.
She will lose her ability to interact with the community in an appropriate way if she is not given the opportunity to practice and maintain these skills.
An increase to self harming behaviours;
A 50% cut in funding in a recent plan reassessment has meant that has already had to cut her community access. We have seen an increase to her self-harming behaviours due to this as she does not have the understanding as to why things have suddenly changed.
medical team have stated that her self-harming behaviours have directly resulted in her losing vision permanently in one eye and leaving her with reduced vision in the other due to multiple surgeries. It is expected that she will lose all vision at some point in the future.
We have been working with her neurologist and behaviour support specialist to avoid medication that is considered a chemical restraint. Her neurologist has said that if her behaviours of concern escalate she will need to start restrictive medication.
Lack of access to essential care;
Without the supports in place will struggle to access appointments, pick up her life saving medication.
Loss of known supports;
It is essential that has trained supports who know her well. It takes considerable time to put this into place. If her supports are reduced the 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;
Without the support in place the caring role will increase for informal supports. We are already suffering from severe carer burnout and dependency on us will increase.
We use the time when is supported out of the home to do the things that keep her safe and that we cannot do while she is here. This includes household tasks such as additional washing (due to her disability), preparing and cooking meals (to help mitigate behaviours of concern), additional cleaning (above what you would expect in a normal household and due to her disability) and other household chores.
I also use this time to arrange appointments, create and make her communication tools and attend to other tasks.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1256
I am no longer able to provide the level of informal support that I do due to my own health issues. We are already at ART to try and get the support she needs to keep safe and alive.
Other;
In the media it has been portrayed as supports are all about going to cafes and having a good time. For this is actually structured and she gains the following;
· Social etiquette
· Planning
· Budgeting
· Fostering relationships
· Developing communication
I also oppose the following;
· The criteria around permanence and “appropriate treatments”. has been under the care of her medical and therapy teams for her whole life. Given the complexity of her disability I find it deplorable that the government believe they have the right to override medical specialists. care/treatment is based on her individual needs, not some pre-determined criteria that may not be appropriate and cause her harm.
· The new functional capacity test and reassessment of all participants. The new functional capacity test is not individualised and the questions will not give a true understanding of and her disability. will be disadvantaged based on the questions being asked. An eligibility reassessment will put into financial hardship if she is required to gain more up to date reports/letters. It will also clog up the health system for necessary appointments when doctors and specialists have to spend time writing reports for something that hasn’t changed.
Regards,