Submission 1539
My name is . I am a parent of two children on the NDIS and I also work as an independent Support Coordinator supporting participants and families across Queensland.
I am writing this submission because I am deeply concerned about the direction of the
proposed changes to the NDIS and the impact they will have on children, families, and people with disability who rely on the scheme to live safely, participate in their communities, and access basic supports that many Australians take for granted.
My 16-year-old son has Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 2 and an endocrine disability. He has been an NDIS participant since approximately 2020. His plan funds the support worker hours and therapies that allow him to attend school, regulate within the community, and continue developing independence and life skills.
The support my son has received through the NDIS has been life changing and, at times, life preserving. Due to the mental health impacts associated with his disability, there were periods where our family feared for his safety and future. Access to appropriate supports, therapies, and intervention allowed him to stabilise, build independence, and continue engaging in education and the community.
Therapies funded through the NDIS also supported him to develop functional skills many people take for granted. He progressed from requiring substantial assistance to being able to walk safely, access transport and vehicles more independently, and become continent. These outcomes not only improved his dignity and quality of life, but also reduced his long-term reliance on intensive supports. Removing or reducing early intervention and disability supports does not remove need. In many cases, it creates greater risk, crisis, and long-term costs for both families and the broader system.
My daughter is 10 years old and has Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 2, ADHD, anxiety, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, intellectual impairment, severe learning disabilities, expressive language delays, sensory processing challenges, emotional dysregulation, significant eating barriers, and periods where she becomes non-verbal during distress. She requires substantial daily support across communication, emotional regulation, education, sensory needs, learning, and community participation. Her NDIS supports currently allow her to access speech therapy, occupational therapy, dietetic support, and limited support worker assistance that enables her to attend school and engage in therapy. These supports have helped her learn to communicate, regulate emotions, and safely participate in daily life.
Without these supports, the impact on my children and our family would be devastating. Their progress has taken years. These are not luxuries or optional extras. They are the reason my children can access education, communicate their needs, participate in the community, and maintain stability and safety.
Like many parents of children with disability, my ability to maintain stable employment has already been significantly impacted by caring responsibilities, school exclusions, therapy requirements, behavioural crises, medical appointments, and the lack of adequate mainstream supports. I have previously lost employment opportunities due to the level of care my children require. My daughter’s needs became so significant within mainstream education settings that we were advised she could no longer be adequately supported within
Submission 1539
that environment. These realities are not uncommon for families raising children with complex disability needs.
As both a parent and a Support Coordinator, I am seeing growing fear and uncertainty across the disability community. I am supporting families who are already receiving notices regarding reassessments and reviews, often without clarity about what supports will remain available to them. Many participants are in crisis, exhausted from repeatedly having to justify their disability, functional impairment, and basic support needs.
I am also deeply concerned about the destabilisation occurring across the Support Coordination sector. Many participants rely on long-term trusted relationships with coordinators who understand their risks, communication styles, trauma histories, housing situations, medical needs, and safeguarding requirements. Families are already fearful about losing providers they have worked with for years. I have invested years into study, compliance, professional development, and frontline disability work to support vulnerable participants through complex systems. The loss of experienced independent coordinators will not reduce complexity for participants. It will increase crisis, fragmentation, and system failure for families already operating under immense pressure.
The 2023 Independent Review outlined a roadmap of recommendations that specifically identified foundational supports as a necessary precondition before significant eligibility and funding changes occurred. Those foundational supports do not currently exist in practice. Families are being told mainstream systems will absorb supports, yet those systems are already overwhelmed, inaccessible, underfunded, or unavailable. In reality, the burden falls back onto unpaid carers, most commonly mothers, who reduce work or leave employment entirely to fill the gaps.
I am also concerned that these changes were not clearly presented to the Australian public during the 2025 federal election despite the scale of the proposed reforms and projected participant reductions. Decisions of this magnitude should require transparency, public consultation, and genuine engagement with the disability community.
The NDIS is not simply a budget line. It is infrastructure that prevents crisis. It keeps children in schools, prevents hospital admissions, reduces family breakdown, supports participation, and allows people with disability to live with dignity. Reducing supports does not remove need. It shifts costs into hospitals, mental health services, education systems, housing services, and onto families already operating beyond capacity.
I ask the committee to explain how eligibility and funding changes can proceed when foundational supports remain unavailable. I also ask whether downstream cost modelling has been completed regarding the impact these changes will have on hospitals, mental health systems, schools, housing, and unpaid carers, and if so, why that modelling has not been publicly released.
Finally, I ask the committee to reject or delay these reforms until foundational supports are established, an independent human rights assessment is completed, and meaningful consultation with people with disability, families, and frontline workers has occurred.
Submission 1539