National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1292
To whom it may concern,
My name is and I am an NDIS participant as I am Autistic. I am writing because the recent NDIS fundin have caused real concern for me and friends in the disability community. Your decision has affected our daily lives, independence, ability to work and mental and physical wellbeing.
I understand the need to ensure the NDIS remains financially sustainable. However, there are more effective and equitable ways to manage costs without reducing essential supports. I have whittled this down to three main points:
Pricing: Most NDIS-registered providers are charging exorbitant fees, partly to cover the administration costs and partly because they know they can. They know we have no alternative and therefore simply have to foot the bill. They are also no doubt aware that most disabled people are either unable or hesitant to speak up for ourselves when we are mistreated - for example when we are being asked to pay inflated service charges. I have also seen this behaviour in the many companies that coordinate support workers. While charging clients hourly rates starting at $60 on weekdays, they pay their workers $30-40.
Administration costs: Most of these are unnecessary. I was given a few thousand dollars in my first plan to cover the costs of a plan management company and support coordinator, who did almost nothing to help me. The company I used charged approximately $100 per hour, (charged in fifteen minute increments), simply to answer a quick question on the phone or send me an email. Part of their job was to put me in touch with relevant providers, however the list they sent me was simply the first page of websites from a quick google search. It would be cheaper for support workers to help their clients with this individually than for participants to pay for the negligible assistance these superfluous companies provide.
Use private health cover: Why doesn’t NDIS cover the gap left after private health cover? If my private health fund covers part of a service, for example physiotherapy, NDIS refuses to cover the remainder. If I don’t have private health cover, NDIS pays the full amount. Where is the logic in that? This only encourages participants to not use the private health insurance, even if they are paying for it, passing the bill on to the NDIS instead of their health fund, to whom they are paying fees.
These measures target waste and inefficiency rather than essential supports. I welcome the opportunity to discuss these concerns with you further.
Kind regards,