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

Submission 1446

To the Senate Committee,

I am an autistic adult and NDIS participant. I am writing to express my concerns about the NDIS Future Generations Bill 2026, specifically the statement that:

“Funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme should be used efficiently and the distribution of scheme funding, across participants as a whole, should be equitable, having regard to similarities in needs and circumstances.”

While I understand the importance of fairness and sustainability, I am concerned this wording could lead to autistic people being assessed too broadly against others with the same diagnosis, rather than as individuals with different levels of need and different life circumstances.

Autism presents very differently from person to person. Two autistic people may appear similar on paper but function very differently in daily life. Some people are able to work, study, or cope socially only because they already have supports in place. If funding decisions become focused on comparing participants to others with “similar” disabilities, there is a risk that important supports could be reduced simply because someone appears to be coping better than expected.

I ask the Committee to ensure the NDIS continues to assess people individually and recognises that equitable support does not always mean equal support. Disabled people should not lose essential supports because they do not fit neatly into a comparison group.

Thank you for considering my submission.

Kind regards,