National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1276
Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill
The Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill must NOT be passed.
Even before the introduction of this bill, my family (all with disabilities) have been affected negatively through the previous changes, and the new changes suggested in this bill will make even further issues in how well we function - both as individuals and as a family.
I am a widow on the autism spectrum, I also have a physical disability (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) which is not currently covered by my NDIS plan. I have three adult sons that I care for full time, all also on the autism spectrum. My middle son has an intellectual disability, and the two youngest have respiratory issues (which are not covered by the NDIS).
I have just finished the process of going through the Tribunal, fighting for supports for three of our plans. Most of those supports were cut because of changes to the system which has determined that certain allied health supports are not required, even though they are necessary - particularly if the government wants what they SAY they want, which is a larger number of disabled people being able to join (or rejoin) the workforce.
Of my three sons, all of them would be able to join the workforce with added supports - one of them is likely to just need those supports initially, then there’s a high chance those supports could be reduced or potentially completely removed once he has been able to settle in the new job. One is likely to need added supports for a while after getting into the workforce, and the third is likely to need some supports for the rest of his life.
All three have the same main diagnosis, all three are completely different with what supports they need and how long those supports will be needed. Having said which, ALL THREE will be a drain on society without ANY supports, as they need more than what I can personally give them to get that boost into the workforce.
Think about it. Three men, three different cases. All three will be considered a “failure” to society if they are left in their current situation. They will be sitting on disability support pensions, gradually losing all ability and motivation to join the workforce, get out into the community, make friends and potentially start relationships. All three need varying amounts of supports, but if they should get what they NEED, all three can be contributing, tax paying members of society if they are just given that leg up.
The most important supports they need include allied health (speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, continence nurse etc) ALL of these supports were heavily cut back on their last plans, and some were removed completely. Other supports were asked for included funding to help find and keep a job. My youngest just
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1276
aged out of school and didn’t even get school leavers support, which I was informed is usually automatically given to help participants actually move on from the school environment into a working environment.
Several supports that would have made a difference for my middle child have been automatically refused because our preference for life-saving GPS and health related technology (such as an Apple Watch) isn’t allowed when they could pay much more for a product that does less and cannot attach to our current technology.
In a household with incredibly limited income, I have had to find ways to pay for things which I usually wouldn’t go near in order to support my son in case something goes wrong - like when he absconds due to overwhelm, his blood oxygen level drops, or his heart rate skyrockets. In these cases I have to make choices between paying bills, food, medication or buying equipment.
We try not to buy other things very often when possible.
For instance, the only clothes I have are ones my mother in law made for me years ago. Most have holes or are heavily torn, but they do the job. My youngest son has two sets of clothes he can wear, as he has sensory issues and the only clothes he can wear are generally unavailable at a second hand store. When we’re lucky something goes on sale at KMart, but even then it’s a struggle. My oldest son has severe sensory issues, particularly with pants, which means we’ve been babying a pair of pants which cost more than my entire wardrobe just in material, as my mother in law made those as well. I’m just hoping the holes aren’t too obvious when he goes out. Thankfully my middle child can wear the inexpensive gear from KMart, but he also has continence issues and wears through his clothing quickly.
When the car breaks down we do our best to organise things to repair what we can when possible. Our last mechanic was great in that they let us pay off bills when something big happened, but they have sold their business so I’m just ignoring issues with the car as much as possible until it gets to the point where I will no longer be able to ignore them.
This is life in a household with disabled people. We aren’t going on holiday. We aren’t eating steak every night. In fact we shared a can of baked beans and made toast for dinner last night. We aren’t going out of our way to charge the government for weird and wonderful things so we can live high off the hog. We’re struggling to survive, and when we do not have the supports we need, we’re using funds that we cannot really spare in order to pay for things we really cannot afford… or we simply do without and suffer the consequences.
Although I guess the government doesn’t REALLY care about the number of households that are going through exactly the same thing, or they wouldn’t be looking at ripping away those supports under the guise of “saving the future of NDIS” - they’re saving a few bucks now in order to spend MORE through Centrelink, Medicare and government help
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1276
with things like funerals, because there will be a whole lot more deaths coming up without those supports as well.
In the case of those people “rorting the system” maybe the government should be looking at the big businesses that are already REGISTERED with the NDIS who charge millions for services that are under supplied or not supplied at all. Rather than looking at the individuals that the NDIS is meant to be helping, but instead is just ignoring because they’re too busy robbing Peter (participants) to pay Paul (fraudsters). Not to mention the amount of money wasted on lawyers when participants are forced to go to the tribunal to get even the bare bones of what supports are necessary.
Just in case you didn’t understand my thoughts on this bill. I DO NOT support the Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill and it MUST NOT be passed.