National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1289
Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Name:
Electorate: , Western Australia
Date: 28 May 2026
What the NDIS means for me and my family right now
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is the only mechanism that enables my daughter to access the supports she needs to participate in daily life, develop essential skills and have a decent chance of independence. Her current NDIS plan provides therapies, supports and capacity building interventions that are not currently available in the public health system. This is due to either long or excessive wait lists or, would be otherwise cost prohibitive. Due to current strains on the public system, the NDIS allow access to private services, ensuring essential access to therapies in a timely manner. Without the NDIS, my daughter may not have made the developmental progress today.
For our family, the NDIS funding is essential and not an optional extra. It allows her growth, assists in managing her needs. It reduces the pressure of schools and other community organisations by ensuring she received early intervention and targeted support. The Scheme currently provides certainty, predictability (through the ability to choose therapists and interventions) – all of which is now at risk of the proposed amendments.
How do I feel about the proposed changes to the NDIS Act?
After reading the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 (the Act), in detail, I am deeply concerned. The Bill introduces structural changes that go far beyond what families were told to expect. These changes alter eligibility, planning and participant rights in way that place children like my daughter at significant risk.
Once of the most alarming changes in the introduction of the new definition of functional capacity in section 9B. This definition required assessments to be conducted without assistance, without assistive technology and without considering environmental and personal circumstances. This is an medicalise, deficit-based approach and does not reflect how children function in real life. It disadvantages children with developmental delay, autism, sensory needs, or fluctuating conditions – all of which the NDIS was originally intended to support.
Additionally, there is the absence of grandfathering protections. The Bill states that new definitions and criterial apply to all decisions made after commencement, including for existing participants. This means that my daughter could be reassessed under the new, narrower rules. This directly contradicts the assurances I received from my local memberƋs office that she “ would not be disadvantagedƉ.
Further, the Bill introduces extraordinary new powers for the Minister under section 34A. This provision allows the Minister to set a percentage reduction (below 100%) for any group of supports and apply it across all plans by legislative instrument, without parliamentary debate.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1289
The Bill explicitly states that funding may be less than the total cost of reasonable and necessary supports. This is unprecedented. It enables system wise cuts regardless of individual need and it centralises decision making in a way that undermines the original intent of the NDIS.
Finally, the Bill allows the NDIS to deny eligibility if “other serviceƉ could be accessed under amendments in Part 9. This can occur even if those services do not exist locally, have long waitlists, are not disability specific, or a not suitable for the child. This mechanism effectively shifts children off the NDIS before foundational supports are actually in place.
I support sustainability and integrity in the NDIS; this has to be central to the NDIS. However these reforms go far beyond tightening fraud controls or improving planning processes They fundamentally reshape the Scheme in ways that reduce access, limit rights and create uncertainty for families.
Have these changes been explained clearly enough?
In a word, no, the changes have not been explained clearly, transparently or in a way that reflects their true impact. Families were told that reforms would focus on fraud reduction, better planning and strengthening foundational supports. We were not told thatƉ
- Functional capacity would be assessed without supports or assistive technology (s9B)
- Existing participants could be reassessed under the new criteria.
- The Minister could reduce funding across support categories (s34A)
- Eligibility could be denied based on hypothetical “other servicesƉ.
These are major structural changes with profound consequences. They should have been communicated openly and honestly, not discovered by families reading legislative drafts.
What would happen if social and community supports were reduced or removed
If social and community supports were reduced or removed, may daughterƋs participation in everyday activities would decline. These supports have helped to build her confidence. Without the, she may become more isolated and her opportunities for inclusion would diminish.
What would happen if capacity-building support were reduced or removed – or if we never had access to them
Capacity-building supports are the foundation of my daughterƋs progress. They enable her to develop communication, motor, sensory, interoceptive, proprioceptive and social skills that will benefit her throughout her life. Without these supports, her development could stall. Early intervention opportunities would be lost and her long-term independence would be compromised.
If she had never had access to these supports, she would not be where she is today. The NDIS has allowed her to build skills that reduce future reliance on more intensive service. Removing or reducing these supports would not only harm her development but would ultimately increase long-term costs to the government and community systems.
Conclusion and requests to the Committee
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1289
I respectfully ask the Committee to:
- Include explicit grandfathering protections for existing participants, especially children. This will curb the growth of the NDIS while still supporting those who have already identified needs.
- Amend or move section 34A, which allows the Minister to reduce funding across support categories.
- Ensure functional capacity assessments (s9B) reflect real work functioning, not medicalised, deficit test conditions.
- Guarantee that foundational supports are fully funded, available and accessible before shifting children away from the NDIS.
- Protect participant rights, procedural fairness and the original intent of the Scheme, empowering people with disabilities to choose the interventions they need in order to participate in life.
I apologise if there are typographical or grammatical errors included in this submission. I only found out about this enquiry yesterday, despite writing to my local member weeks ago. I have drafted this submission as quickly as possible so as to ensure it meets the submission timeline, while still balancing other life commitments.
Thank you for considering my submission.