National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1468
I am a single mother who raised six children on my own, while also living with the long- term impacts of severe childhood trauma, disability, mental illness, and domestic violence.
I grew up in an unsafe home with alcoholism, sexual abuse, mental abuse, and physical abuse. I never received the protection, support, or intervention I needed as a child. Instead, I fell through the cracks.
At just 13 years old, I escaped one abusive environment only to end up in another. I became involved with a 30-year-old man who preyed on my vulnerability and trauma. I had two children before I fully understood how wrong and damaging the situation was. That relationship also involved domestic violence, the effects of which I still carry with me today.
I live with ASD, ADD, CPTSD, chronic anxiety, and the lasting impacts of lifelong trauma. For many years, I survived without proper support, understanding, advocacy, or diagnosis. I was expected to cope alone while raising children and trying to survive electronically and mentally myself.
There were years where I could barely leave my bedroom. I struggled to leave the house, attend appointments, understand paperwork, or advocate for my children because I was constantly overwhelmed and unsupported.
My older children also live with disabilities, but their needs were not properly recognised or supported when they were younger because I simply did not have the support systems around me that families need in order to navigate disability services, education, and healthcare.
One memory has stayed with me forever. My son was sent home from primary school with paperwork explaining how I could support him. I still have that envelope today, and he is now 20 years old.
I remember opening it and not understanding what it said. I asked the school for help and was told, “Read the paperwork or get someone to read it for you.â€
But I had nobody.
No advocate. No support worker. No family support. No guidance.
My son is still illiterate today, and I carry the heartbreak of knowing that earlier support could have changed so much for him.
Now, with my twins who have higher support needs, I can finally see what proper support and early intervention can do. Through the NDIS, functional capacity support, and caring supports, my girls are progressing in ways my older children never had the opportunity to.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1468
The support I now receive has changed our lives. It has helped prevent severe carer burnout, allowed me to safely engage in the community, attend appointments, understand complex systems, and continue healing while parenting children with disabilities.
Most importantly, I have not been admitted to a mental health ward in five years since receiving proper support.
That is not dependence. That is stability. That is prevention. That is what happens when people are finally supported instead of abandoned.
I have worked incredibly hard to get to where I am today. I have come so far from the frightened, isolated person I once was, and I do not want to go backwards.
The fear of losing support is terrifying because I know exactly what life looks like without it. I know what it means to fall through the cracks and become invisible.
Families like mine do not need more barriers or cuts. We need compassionate systems that understand trauma, disability, domestic violence, mental health, and caring responsibilities are deeply connected.
Support has not made me weaker. It has given me and my children a chance to survive, heal, and slowly build a safer and more stable future.
Please, Thankyou