National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submission 1386

28 May 2026

Submission Regarding the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026

I am a current serving member of the Australian Defence Force, a husband, a father and have two NDIS participants in our home. My wife is a wheelchair user and relies on the NDIS for essential daily supports, therapies, assistive technology, and personal care. My son has a physical disability and also is autistic with significant support needs and will never live independently. He depends on the NDIS for therapies, social supports, and daily living assistance.

I am deeply concerned that the NDIS Amendment Bill 2026 moves the Scheme away from its original purpose of supporting dignity, independence, inclusion, and participation, and instead shifts toward cost-cutting, compliance, and restricting access to supports.

As a family, we understand firsthand what happens when adequate supports are not available. Before the NDIS, the burden of care fell heavily on our family. I experienced significant carer burnout while serving full-time in the ADF and trying to support both my wife and son. These legislative changes and reductions in supports means I may need to leave or significantly reduce my hours of employment with the ADF in order to care for them both. No family should be pushed back into crisis or leave employment to care for their family because essential supports are reduced or removed completely.

The proposed changes to functional capacity assessments fail to recognise that many people with disability can only function safely because of carers, wheelchairs, home modifications, therapies, and accessible environments. Removing those supports from the assessment process creates an unrealistic and harmful picture of disability.

I am also concerned about tighter reassessment rules and stricter permanence requirements. Disability needs change over time. Equipment breaks, conditions deteriorate, and support needs evolve and increase. Delays or barriers to reassessment could leave people without safe wheelchairs, therapies, communication devices, or essential supports.

The Bill gives broad powers for funding cuts, support caps, pricing controls, and automated decision-making with limited transparency or review rights. Essential supports should not be determined primarily by budget considerations or a one-size-fits-all classification. My wife’s supports allow her to maintain basic dignity, participate in the community, and safely function as a parent and member of society.

The proposed expansion of mandatory provider registration and restrictions on self-management are also concerning. Families should have the right to choose trusted support workers and providers. Continuity of care and trust are critical, particularly for intimate personal care and for autistic participants who rely on stable routines and familiar supports.

Reducing claim timeframes to 90 days and increasing compliance obligations places additional stress on families already managing complex disability and caring responsibilities. The Government’s focus should remain on organised fraud and unethical providers, not vulnerable participants or carers dealing with administrative complexity.

I am also deeply concerned about the proposal to shift people toward “foundational supports” that are not yet established and appear far more limited than current NDIS supports. These changes risk returning families to the inadequate state-based systems the NDIS was created to replace.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Submission 1386

Importantly, these reforms will not only impact disabled Australians — they will impact carers, children, family stability, workforce participation, and mental health. This legislation will shift costs onto other systems such as hospitals, mental health facilities, schools and families. Families like mine rely on the NDIS to maintain safety, stability, and the ability to continue contributing to the community and workforce.

Finally, consultation on legislation of this scale has been rushed and inadequate in contravention of the UNCRPD Article 4(3). Disabled people, carers, and families deserve genuine consultation and co-design before reforms with such significant consequences are introduced.

I urge the Government to reconsider these reforms and undertake proper consultation with participants, carers, clinicians, advocacy organisations, and families before proceeding further.