National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1480
I am a registered voter in the Division of Mackellar. I am not a member of any political party, nor have I ever been a member of a political party. I do not work in the disability services sector.
I have a child under the age of 10 who started on the NDIS early intervention at a young age, and is now a NDIS participant.
The therapies which the programmes have funded have been critical in improving her quality of life and setting her up to participate in society and attend a mainstream junior school.
I hope that the NDIS of the future is able to continue to support therapies for her to progress to mainstream high school, and tertiary study and/or regular employment and to participate fully in Australian society as an adult.
I am writing in support of much of The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Integrity and Safeguarding) Bill 2025.
I support stronger safeguards to protect people with disability from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. I also support tougher penalties for providers who deliberately harm participants’ health, safety, or financial wellbeing.
However I object to the following:
9B Definition of functional capacity
This sets up a competition between government appointed bureaucrats and doctors/specialists following evidence based research to determine if a person meets the access criteria (24 disability requirements in the Act).
If the bureaucrats are the authority on disability functional capacity, then this bill seeks to waste time and resources of some of the most educated and qualified people in the country- our doctors/specialists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. The bill seeks to waste the time and resources of the private sector to unilaterally and without recourse usurp their expert judgement with their own political judgement.
The section must be removed, or the requirement for doctors/specialists to critically assess the person against access criteria be removed.
Furthermore, the general public may be concerned if this section of the Amendment sets a precedent for the government appointed bureaucrats to act as an arbiter for other decisions usually taken by specialists/doctors, about end of life care, or trauma care in emergency.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1480
Part 2 — Limit unscheduled plan reassessments
The exis:ng legisla:on is sufficient.
The proposed changes are similar to the problems with 9B listed above
The legisla:on already contains sufficient triggers for reassessment, introducing more seeks to create a situa:on where the plan and framework implemented on evidence based research is usurped by arbitrary unscheduled plan reassessments by government appointed bureaucrats.
In conclusion: the government has a unique historical opportunity- to accept the considered opinion of 1,000’s of Australia’s most respected doctors that more ci:zens are suffering significant reduced capacity due to permanent lifelong disability than what the poli:cians hoped for, or to capriciously and arbitrarily choose the deserving from the undeserving as bigots guided by nothing but their own ego.
Julia Gillard told Parliament when the NDIS legisla:on was introduced May 15, 2013 ‘there will be no more “in principle” and no more “when circumstances permit” … “permanent care” not “temporary help”. Disability care starts in 7 weeks :me and there will be no turning back!’
Either the Labor Party fulfils this promise or it abandons all its promises. The promises the current government makes regarding the NDIS future, if they fail to fulfil the promises of Labor Past, are worthless, because they too are sure to be thrown away by Labor Future. A party that cannot be trusted, is not a party that will receive the trust of the electorate.
The Na:onal Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012 has indeed “transform[ed] the lives of people with disability, their families and carers.” We have had our “needs met in a way that truly supports them to live with choice and dignity it will bring an end to the tragedy of services denied or delayed”, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in Parliament on Nov 29, 2012. This is something the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Parliament and the Australian People should be proud of. I know I am.
Thank you for considering my submission.