National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1340
Subject: Submission to the Inquiry into the Securing the NDIS for Future Generations Bill 2026
Dear Committee / Member of Parliament,
I am an allied health professional living and working in , New South Wales. I am writing to share my concerns regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.
I am asking the Committee to recommend that the Bill not proceed in its current form, unless further amendments are made to protect participant rights, dignity, client-centred care, individualised decision-making, and access to therapy and supports that provide meaningful functional benefit.
I am an occupational therapist originally from the Philippines, and I have been working in Australia since 2024. When I moved here, I was genuinely amazed and grateful to see how the Australian Government supports and funds people with disability. I remember wishing that this level of support could also be available in my home country. Through my work, I have seen how much the NDIS can empower people with disability to engage in their daily activities, access their community, participate in education and work, and live with dignity and quality of life.
Even while living and working in a rural area, I have seen how the NDIS has supported clients to access necessary and life-changing supports. This has included a power wheelchair for an older client with an acquired brain injury, as well as physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy for a young adult with congenital non-progressive ataxia and primary generalised epilepsy. These supports are not luxuries. They are practical and necessary supports that allow people to build skills, participate in daily life, and work towards their goals, including living as independently and safely as possible.
From my perspective as an occupational therapist, I am concerned that the proposed changes may reduce the individualised nature of NDIS decision-making. Occupational therapy practice is based on understanding the whole person, including their functional capacity, environment, interests, motivation, support systems, safety risks, and personal goals. This is important because two people with the same diagnosis can have very different support needs. A person’s disability does not exist in isolation; it affects how they move, communicate, learn, regulate emotions, manage daily routines, participate socially, and access the community.
I am particularly concerned about changes that may tighten eligibility, limit funded supports, reduce access to unscheduled plan reassessments, and require a stronger link between a participant’s impairment and each funded support. While I understand the need for sustainability and accountability within the Scheme, I am worried that these changes may result in people with genuine and ongoing disability-related
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1340
needs being unable to access the supports they require. Functional needs can change due to changes in health, living arrangements, family support, school or work demands, mental health, and informal supports. Participants need a system that can respond to these changes in a timely and human way.
Over the past two years, I have already seen clients experience reductions in funding despite having significant ongoing support needs. I have seen a client with spinal muscular atrophy type 2 and intellectual disability experience a major reduction in funding despite their physical and cognitive support needs. I have also seen how limited support worker hours for a participant with complex behavioural needs can affect not only that individual, but also the safety and wellbeing of others in a shared living environment. These examples show why funding decisions need to remain individualised, clinically informed, and responsive to real-life functional needs.
I am also concerned about how changes to reasonable and necessary supports, capacity-building supports, social and community participation, and assistive technology may affect participants long term. Assistive technology is not simply about providing “an item”. It requires careful assessment, trial, clinical reasoning, and review to ensure the equipment is safe, suitable, and sustainable for the person’s needs. A lower-cost or more generic option may not always be appropriate if it increases risk, reduces independence, or does not meet the person’s long-term functional needs.
For children and young people, I am concerned that reduced access to therapy and capacity-building supports may increase long-term risks. I have seen how neurodevelopmental disabilities such as autism and ADHD can significantly affect a child’s learning, social participation, emotional regulation, planning, organisation, and self-confidence, even when the child may appear “fine” on the surface. Without appropriate support, children can become more self-conscious, overwhelmed, isolated, and at greater risk of secondary mental health concerns. I have also seen how single parents and families supporting multiple children with high needs can experience significant stress when appropriate supports are not available.
The NDIS has helped many people experience greater equity in a world that is often not designed for people with disability. It has helped people access medical appointments, move safely around their homes and communities, participate in school, build daily living skills, regulate emotions, communicate their needs, and engage more meaningfully with others. If the proposed changes are passed without stronger safeguards, I am concerned that more people with disability will once again be pushed to the side, with their needs treated as less important than those of people without disability.
I understand that the NDIS needs to be sustainable for future generations. However, sustainability should not come at the cost of dignity, safety, choice and control, or
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1340
access to individualised supports that allow people with disability to live with quality of life. Any changes to the Scheme should ensure that people with disability, families, carers, rural communities, and the professionals supporting them are meaningfully heard.
I urge the Committee to reconsider the Bill in its current form and recommend amendments that protect individualised decision-making, timely access to reassessments, appropriate therapy and capacity-building supports, safe and suitable assistive technology, and the rights of disabled Australians to live with dignity, choice and meaningful participation.
Thank you for your time and for considering my submission.
Sincerely,