Submission TO THE SENATE COMMUNITY AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

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

Bill 2026 Submitted BY Anonymous Family Carer Relationship To participant: Parent And primary carer Participant: Adult child,€; €; years old €;, current nDis Participant With multiple diagnoses Date: €;; €; may €; ;

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

Submission 1453

The two week timeframe for submissions is not reasonable given the complexity and extensiveness of the changes proposed and the potential impacts these will have.

I find myself struggling due to caring responsibilities; many other carers are exhausted too. Even experts say submission timeframes need extending because even I struggle finding enough free time amidst work commitments! The disability community has an important principle: nothing about us without our input! Family caregivers often hold deep knowledge but haven’t been adequately included yet—let alone having sufficient response time on new legislation proposals like those mentioned here…

Urgent Recommendations:

• Extend consultation periods so family caregivers can meaningfully participate using supported formats;
• Include formal co-design processes involving families with disabilities recognizing their expertise held within them, Commit genuine ongoing consultations before any further reforms progress.

THE FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY FRAMEWORK DOES NOT REFLECT REALITY OF LIVING WITH MULTIPLE DIAGNOSES As my child’s primary caregiver, daily interactions reveal how conditions interact & no standardized assessment tool captures this reality accurately—the combination creates a more complex challenge than single diagnoses suggest… On ‘bad’ days tasks become unmanageable that were possible otherwise under support. This variability isn’t inconsistency or exaggeration—it’s fluctuating condition nature requiring dynamic assessments by someone knowing your specific case rather relying solely standard tools/algos which fail reliably capture such complexities.

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

Submission 1453

on a person’s overall functional capacity. If the National Disability Insurance Agency is only required to consider whether each impairment individually meets the eligibility threshold, then my child, and many people like them, may not be able to gain access to the scheme even though they suffer significant functional impairment. I am also concerned about the I-CAN assessment tool, which will be used to determine support budgets, and the as-yet-undefined eligibility assessment tool. Neither of these has been finalised.The thresholds , weighting offunctional domains,and criteriafor determining severityhave n otbeen publicly released fore consultation . As acarer,Iam being askedtocomment on legislationthatwill fundamentally change mychild ’saccess t osupport without knowingthe detailsof howthatchange w illactually work.I urge th e Committee tow: • Require thatBill explicitly mandate consideration o f cumulative an d intersecting impacto fm ultiple diagnoses one ntalcapacity; • Ensuretha ta ssessment tools account fo r variabilityan df luctuation in functio nal capac ity over time,nott just ata singleassessment point ; • Requ ire tha tas sessorshaveaccessto informationfromcarersafamily membersaspart offunctionalc apacityass ess ment; anda nd • Delay implementation neweligibility criteri a untilthes ee are fully developed independently evaluated subjectgenuine communityconsultation. 3.THE ALTERNATIVE SUPPORTS ARE NOT THERE AND CARERS WILL FILL THE GAPThe governmenthas stated people who no longer qualify for NDIS or whosebudgetsare reduced,wil b esupported through foundational supports and broader healthcommunity sector.As parentand carer this is frightening distressing as I know from experience these alternatives do not exist.The much talked aboutfoundational supportsdonot yetexist. Whatthese foundationalsuppor ts will behoww ithasecessed hasnot been determined . The current level of funding beingtalkaboutfor foundat ionalsupports ar en otalevelthatcouldabsorb thesupport needsof160,000peopleprojecttobemovedofftheNDISby2030 an dtheywillno tbe availablebeforecuts to participationsupporth beginin October 2026.Th ehealthsystemis n otsubstitute disability suppo rt.I havenev itated bothyears on behalf child ,an theyservefundamentally differentpurposes .Thesystem addressesdiagnosis treatment.NDIsaddressesfunctional supp ortneeds that remain after treat ment: daily living assistance communityparticipation assistive technology capacity building allow person function life These are same thing one cannot substitute other.

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

Submission 1453

I would possibly be less concerned about supports being shifted from NDIS to the health system (because that is what will happen - the need doesn’t go away) if we had a properly functioning system where it was possible to access affordable and timely psychological and allied support, help but this is not reality. What I know, and every family carers knows, when formal disappears informal expands fill gap means me more hours caring own income spent on supports used through NDIs career relationships future plans compromised government savings legislation evaporate paid women disproportionately ageing already providing billions dollars unpaid care Australian economy am in my fifties concern child face age no longer able provide them support NDIS part plan independence as age Removing reducing does affect now removes pathway live greater independence can eventually step back primary carer That matters This puts at risk urge Committee:

• Legislate no removed or essential reduced until alternative are demonstrably available adequately funded operational area; Conduct publish independent assessment impact proposed reductions unpaid family including economic consequences; Ensure foundational fully before any eligibility budget changes take effect Recognise savings absorbed by unpaid family not savings transfer cost harm onto Australia’s most vulnerable people. THE REQUIREMENT TO EXHAUST ALL APPROPRIATE TREATMENTS IS HARMFUL AND UNJUST As parent involved children healthcare journey many years requirement person must have

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

Submission 1453

The requirement to exhaust all appropriate treatment places an unacceptable burden on families. It assumes:

• Treatment as accessible regardless where someone lives,
• That financial circumstances are not relevant when trying different approaches; it uses “alleviate” meaning even small or temporary improvements could argue a condition isn’t permanent.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill

Submission: Anonymous Family Carer