National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 127
Introduction
My name is , and I am the parent and full-time carer of three children who are participants in the NDIS. My children have Autism and Intellectual Disability, and our family has been involved with the NDIS for approximately seven years.
Over those years, I have spent countless hours advocating for my children to access the supports they need. While the NDIS has provided important support that has improved our children’s lives, the process of fighting for those supports has also caused enormous stress, anxiety, and depression for me as a carer.
I am deeply concerned that the proposed changes in the NDIS Amendment Bill will make life even harder for families like mine and place vulnerable people at greater risk of isolation, crisis, and harm.
Concerns About Reductions to Social and Community Participation Supports
One of my biggest concerns is the potential reduction of funding for social and community participation supports.
My children already struggle significantly to access the community due to their disabilities. Without support workers and community supports, our family would become completely isolated and effectively homebound because it would be too difficult and unsafe for me to manage all three children alone in public settings.
Support workers are not a luxury. They are essential for safety, emotional regulation, skill development, and basic participation in the community.
I have previously experienced situations where trying to manage my children alone in the community became dangerous, including my child nearly being hit by cars during periods where we lacked adequate support.
These supports are life changing. Having a support worker assist for even a few hours can mean:
Children being able to safely participate in the community
Practicing therapy strategies in real-life situations
Reducing stress and conflict within the home
Reducing carer burnout
Preventing isolation and mental health decline
Without these supports:
My family would become isolated
My mental health would significantly deteriorate
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 127
My children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing would suffer
Education and therapies could become inaccessible
Risks to safety within the household would increase
Community participation should not be viewed as optional. Disabled people deserve access to the community, social connection, and dignity just like everyone else.
Concerns About Increased Pressure on Families and Carers
The proposed changes appear to place greater expectations on unpaid carers and families.
As the parent of three children with significant support needs, I can say honestly that families are already carrying enormous pressure.
I already provide constant supervision, emotional support, advocacy, therapy reinforcement, transport, behaviour management, paperwork, communication with providers, and crisis management every day. Managing three separate NDIS plans is itself a full-time job.
Support coordination has been a lifesaver for our family. Removing or limiting independent support coordinators would place extreme administrative burden and stress onto families who are already overwhelmed.
The expectation that families can simply “do more” ignores the reality of disability and carer burnout.
I have personally experienced:
Extreme stress
Anxiety and depression
PTSD responses associated with the NDIS process
Hospitalisation due to the stress caused by inadequate supports and ongoing advocacy battles
Families cannot continue to absorb more pressure without serious consequences.
Concerns About Frequent Reassessments and Plan Instability
The uncertainty around NDIS plans is already extremely stressful.
Every reassessment feels like reliving trauma over and over again. Families are required to repeatedly prove disability, gather expensive reports, explain their struggles in detail, and justify basic supports.
Despite this, reassessments are already significantly delayed. In our experience, the system struggles to keep up with current demand, with reviews often running many months behind schedule.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 127
I do not understand how increasing reassessments and shortening plans will improve the system when the current system is already overwhelmed.
Longer plans would provide:
Stability
Reduced anxiety
Better long-term planning
Less administrative burden
Less trauma for families and participants
The constant fear of losing support creates ongoing instability and emotional distress.
Concerns About Automated Decision-Making
I am extremely concerned about the use of automated decision-making within the NDIS.
Disabled people are individuals. No two participants are the same, especially when people may have rare disabilities, complex needs, co-morbidities, or fluctuating support requirements.
Automated systems cannot fully understand:
Family circumstances
Safety risks
Behavioural complexities
Communication barriers
The real-world impact of disability
There is already a significant problem with incorrect information and poor understanding within the system. Automation risks increasing errors and unfair decisions even further.
I have personally experienced situations where:
Inaccurate information was written about my children
Plan reviewers provided misleading information
Important evidence and reports appeared not to be properly considered
This has forced me into lengthy tribunal processes simply to access appropriate supports for my child.
Automated systems should never replace proper individual assessment and human understanding.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 127
Concerns About Appeals and Fairness
I am also deeply concerned about any reduction in the ability of participants and families to appeal decisions.
Appeal rights are essential for fairness, accountability, and basic human rights.
I have personally needed to challenge decisions multiple times because incorrect information was used or because decision-makers failed to see the full picture of my children’s needs.
Without appeal rights, families are left powerless against incorrect or harmful decisions.
The tribunal process itself was lengthy, exhausting, and emotionally draining, but without it my child would not have received appropriate support.
Removing or limiting appeal pathways risks silencing disabled people and their families.
Examples of the Positive Impact of the NDIS
Despite the challenges, the NDIS has also helped my children in meaningful ways.
Examples include:
One of my children gaining confidence and learning to communicate her needs more effectively
My twins improving their speech through speech therapy so that other people can better understand them
Behaviour support helping all three children regulate emotions more effectively
These supports have helped create a calmer and safer home environment.
Before appropriate supports, our household experienced severe distress and physical aggression toward me as a carer. Behaviour support strategies have significantly reduced these situations and improved quality of life for everyone in the household.
Support workers have also helped implement therapy strategies in everyday life. As a parent of three children with disabilities, I simply do not have enough time or capacity to consistently deliver all of this alone.
The flexibility of Core funding has also been incredibly important because families’ needs change day to day. That flexibility allows supports to be used in practical and meaningful ways.
What I Want the Committee to Understand
I believe there is significant misunderstanding in the wider community about the NDIS.
Many people wrongly assume participants are receiving large amounts of money for luxury items or unnecessary activities. That is not the reality for families like mine.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 127
For us, supports mean:
Basic safety
Reducing isolation
Emotional regulation
Communication development
Access to education and therapies
Reducing crisis situations
Supporting carers to keep functioning
Small supports can make an enormous difference.
A support worker helping for even a short period each day can mean the difference between:
Community participation and total isolation
Stability and crisis
Coping and hospitalisation
These changes are not just administrative changes on paper. They will have real consequences for real families.
Recommendations
I respectfully ask the Senate Committee to consider the following recommendations:
Protect funding for social and community participation supports.
Ensure unpaid carers are not expected to replace essential funded supports.
Preserve access to independent support coordination for families with complex needs.
Maintain strong appeal rights and independent review pathways for participants and families.
Avoid overreliance on automated decision-making and ensure individual human assessment remains central.
Introduce trauma-informed approaches throughout the NDIS review and reassessment process.
Provide longer plan durations to reduce stress, instability, and repeated retraumatisation.
Ensure flexibility within Core funding remains available so supports can adapt to real-life needs.
Recognise the cumulative impact of caring responsibilities on families supporting multiple disabled children.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 127
Conclusion
The NDIS has the potential to genuinely improve lives, and I have seen positive outcomes for my children when appropriate supports are in place.
However, the proposed changes in this Bill risk increasing fear, isolation, mental health decline, and crisis for families like mine.
Disabled people deserve dignity, safety, community access, and the right to have their voices heard. Families caring for disabled children deserve stability, fairness, and support — not additional trauma and uncertainty.
I ask the Committee to carefully consider the real-life consequences these changes may have on vulnerable families and to ensure the NDIS remains focused on supporting people to live safe, meaningful, and connected lives.