National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 132 - Supplementary Submission
Subject: Parental Responsibility and s 31 principles regarding family capacity building
Dear Secretariat,
Although submissions have closed for the Senate Committee Inquiry into the National Insurance Scheme (Protecting the NDIS for Future Generations) Amendment Bill 2026 and the report will be handed down tomorrow, I am writing to clarify misinformation provided by Sarah Hawke during the public hearings on Thursday 11 June 2026.
I am deeply concerned by the factual errors presented by a senior government official and wish to note them for the public record. On pages 62-63 of the transcript (attached), Sarah Hawke stated and then affirmed that State and Territory Disability Ministers were incorrect when they said:
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The Bill repeals the principles in the NDIS Act that require the NDIA to develop and build family capacity during the planning process. Consistent with Sarah Hawke’s response, the Bill moves s 31 principles (c) and (ca) to s 4, which do relate to acknowledging and respecting the role of families, carers, and other significant persons. However, the Bill does not retain s 31 principles (d) and (da), which explicitly reference strengthening and building family capacity, and therefore removes them.
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The Bill codifies a level of care and support that far exceeds the Productivity Commission’s original assessments of what would be reasonable and necessary for a parent to provide, especially to young children with disability. Sarah Hawke’s starting statement—“This bill certainly doesn’t in any way codify the responsibility of allocation of funding in relation to parents and their children with disability”—sounds like an offbeat response. As the Committee is likely well-aware, new ss 34(1H) legislates a presumption that parents are responsible for substantial care and support, encompassing personal care, transport, and emotional and behavioural support.
I see no equivalent explanation or guidance in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Supports for Participants) Rules 2013 (which the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is providing on notice for the Committee to conduct its own comparative analysis of). I will also draw your attention to page 18 of the Productivity Commission Inquiry Report into Disability Care and Support (2011), which clearly states: ‘…it would not be reasonable to expect an 85-year-old carer to provide the bulk of the support to her son with a disability. However, it would usually be
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 132 - Supplementary Submission
appropriate to expect parents of a young child to provide low-intervention support overnight and for a reasonable period during the week…“
Thank you for considering my supplementary input. For Australia’s democracy to function as intended, parliamentary processes must be based on accurate and honest information. For this Senate Committee to arrive at factual conclusions, government officials in attendance must act with integrity and transparency.
Kind regards,