Submission 1431
Submission regarding proposed changes to the NDIS Bill
I am writing as a parent to urgently express serious concern about the impact of the proposed changes to the NDIS Bill on my child and our family. My child has significant disability-related support needs that directly affect their ability to complete essential functional self-care tasks, including hygiene, dressing, eating, regulation, and safe participation in structured daily routines and community access.
Personalised NDIS funding has been critical in maintaining my child’s safety, dignity, and basic daily functioning. With consistent, individualised supports, they are only able to complete daily living tasks through step-by-step prompting, repetition, and structured assistance. These supports are not optional. Without them, there is a rapid and significant decline in functional self-care, increased dysregulation, and reduced safety both at home and in the community.
My child also presents with significant safety risks in the community, including eloping behaviour. This makes one-to-one supervision essential for any community participation. Without appropriate support, community access is not safe or possible. Any reduction in supports would further restrict already limited access to the community and increase isolation.
Submission 1431
We have already experienced funding reductions and refusals of recommended supports, despite providing extensive clinical evidence, including functional capacity assessments, two psychologist reports, and paediatric reports. These reports clearly outline level of need and required supports; however, recommended funding has still not been approved. This has created a critical gap between assessed need and funded supports, leaving essential care unmet.
Any further tightening of eligibility criteria, reduction in funding flexibility, or increased barriers to approval under the proposed reforms would have immediate and severe consequences. For our family, this is not a matter of adjustment—it is a direct threat to the continuation of safe, daily functioning care.
Our family is already under extreme pressure. I am unable to work due to my child’s care needs, and my partner is required to work away from home for extended periods to maintain financial stability. During these times, access to support workers is essential not only for my child’s safety and participation, but for the basic functioning of our household. Without these supports, we experience significant breakdown in daily routines, increased isolation, and unsustainable emotional and practical strain.
In addition, I am currently supporting another child who is awaiting diagnosis and assessment, adding further
Submission 1431
complexity, uncertainty, and care demands without additional formal supports.
Our other children are also significantly impacted, with reduced access to social engagement, community participation, and normal childhood activities due to financial strain, limited capacity, and the high support needs within the home.
The current NDIS supports are what make it possible for my child to function safely at a basic level. Without them, our family would not be able to maintain safe, stable, or sustainable care. The proposed changes risk further reducing access to already limited supports, despite clear clinical evidence of need.
We urgently request that any reforms to the NDIS preserve functional, evidence-based, individualised supports that reflect real-world daily living requirements, and that do not disadvantage families where multiple professional assessments already confirm significant and ongoing disability-related needs.
For our family, these supports are not supplementary. They are essential to safety, functioning, and survival in daily life.