NDIA Accountability Project

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Risks of expanding the NDIA’s administrative power (Individual advocacy)

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National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill

Submitted By:

Nicola Ross, GradDip in Mental Health & Neuroscience; BNursing/BEarly Childhood Teaching(0-5); Nursing Representative, Justice Health Clinical Ethics Advisory Panel

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

Submission 1571 - Supplementary Submission

Introduction

I submit this assessment as a clinician with postgraduate qualifications in Mental Health and Neuroscience, a double degree in Nursing and Early Childhood Teaching, and as a representative on the Justice Health Clinical Ethics Advisory Panel. Government inquiries, including the NDIS Review and the Disability Royal Commission, have identified systemic failures within the NDIA:

  • Including high error rates,
  • Inconsistent reasoning,
  • Misuse of internal policies; and
  • A lack of transparency and accountability. Despite these findings, the NDIS Amendment Bill relies heavily on NDIA operational advice and expands NDIA administrative power by shifting key participant protections from the Act into NDIS Rules. Economic modelling, national clinical guidelines, and cross-system impact analysis were referenced only superficially and not embedded in the Bill’s design.

Systemic Administrative Risks#### High Baseline Error RateThe NDIS Review found that:30–40%ofNDIA decisionsthatarechallenged are incorrect or poorly reasoned,andparticipantswiththe lowest socioeconomic status arethe least able to seek reviewThis createsahigh baselineerror rateinasystemwhere thosemost harmedby errorshavethelastest capacityto correct them.##### Expansion of Discretionary Powers TheBillfurther compoundstheserisksbyscalingthediscretionalpowersofthenDIAandthem Ministeracrossseveralkeyareasincluding:evidentiary requirements,the definitionofsupportsearly intervention pathwaysplan flexibility categoriesandan funding caps,andaccess toreview rights.Notablytheses mattersaretogovernedbyRules thencanbe amended with limited parliamentary scrutiny,rasing significant concerns abouttransparencyaccountability , ansthe stabilityo fparticipant entitlements.

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

Submission 1571 - Supplementary Submission

Structural Tensions

  • The agency whose decision-making failures require correction is being granted expanded discretionary power before those failures are fixed while protections designed to constrain these failures are moved into a weaker legal instrument. From governance perspective this contradicts:
  • principles of discretionary integrity, risk management delegated legislation safeguards procedural fairness public accountability.

The Bill creates foreseeable legal risks including: From an operational perspective it creates predictable risks such as ultra vires rule making improper purpose unlawful fettering discretion procedural breaches fair human rights conflicts in jurisdictions with human rights legislation These risks not theoretical they align patterns previously identified administrative law reviews.

Cross-System Escalation Risks

NDIS Review documents consequences inadequate or delayed supports behavioural escalation school refusal family breakdown homelessness substance use police involvement child protection involvement acute mental health crisis increases dependence costly services.

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

Submission 1571 - Supplementary Submission

State budget papers from NSW, VIC, QLD show services over capacity including:

  • emergency departments,
  • mental health services,
  • homeless system support programs. When NDIS tightens supports errors become harder correct; demand shifts into these expensive less effective disability needs not designed absorbing unmet NDIS demands This represents cost displacement rather than durable fiscal saving.

International Precedent

Comparative international policy analysis United Kingdom New Zealand Canada demonstrates consistent structural trend expanding administrative discretion prior correcting baseline agency decision errors systematically drives up multi-sector public expenditures produces predictable social harm.

Time-Bound Consequences The following trajectories supported national datasets and established escalation patterns consequences time-bound structurally predictable Within months state systems begin pressure as need escalates within to significant strain emerges across health mental homelessness justice child protection Early intervention failures lock irreversible impairments Functional overload states absorb between $36-$55 billion crisis exceeding Commonwealth’s planned $32 in NDIS savings.

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

Submission 1571 - Supplementary Submission

Within 10 years:

National costs escalate through:• higher lifetime disability expenditure• $15–20 billion per year in lost productivity, and• $10–-20 billion per year in increased health ­welfare spending. The projections reflect risk-aligned modeling rather than deterministic forecasts.

Evidence Gaps and Current LimitationsThere [no current government]evidence showing that:[state systems have spare capacity

to absorb additional disability-related demandNDIA decision quality iimproving at a rate would mitigate increased administrative discretionorReductions disabilities do increase long-term impairmentAvailable evidence including governments own commissioned reviews indicates reduceddisability supports are consistently associated with:[Increased public expendituhigher demand state crisis servicesadverse social outcomes]

ConclusionAcross all core legislative assessment domains governance legality adminstrative capability fiscal impact human rights international precedent, bill presents significant structural risks make harmful outcomes highly foreseeable based available evidencethe evidence does not support conclusion will improve NDIS instead it indicatesthe bill reinforce existing NDIA decision-making challenges weaken safeguards increases longterm costsexpose both State Commonwealth system to escalating crisis demandTaken together these findings demonstrate the Bill contains critical structuralencounters may compromise its intended outcomeIt containssystemic contradictions introduces governancedefaults creates legal risesshift costs into already overburdened statesystems isassociated predictable adverse outcomescalled NDIS Review internationalevidencthe combination of high error rates expanded discretionary power weakened statutory safeguards absence cross-system modelling meansBill resolve exis failuresInstead Bill likely exacerbate exist administrativeweaknesses

Across risk typically considered by parliamentary committeesbill present unresolved or elevated consequences

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

Submission 1571 - Supplementary Submission

Rather than resolving systemic issues, the proposed legislation embeds and expands the NDIA’s existing administrative failures, resulting in predictable legal, social and economic harms.

Withdrawing essential disability supports are unlikely to generate durable fiscal savings; it does not reduce public spending but shifts into higher-cost emergency frameworks. The resulting financial pressures across State and Commonwealth systems represent a foreseeable substantial risk associated with this bill.

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

Submission 1571 - Supplementary Submission

  • Requiring that any changes to early intervention pathways be evidence-based and independently reviewed

Introduce minimum evidentiary standards to prevent inconsistent or overly restrictive interpretations

To reduce variability and improve fairness, the Committee may wish to consider:

  • Legislating minimum evidentiary requirements
  • Prohibiting internal operational guidelines from overriding statutory intent
  • Requiring that evidence standards be developed with clinical and disability sector input

Strengthen review rights and procedural fairness protections

To ensure participants can meaningfully challenge incorrect decisions, the Committee may wish to consider: * Preserving merits review access for all materially affected decisions * Requiring clear written reasons for all decisions * Ensuring participants can access evidence relied upon by the NDIA

Require independent evaluation of the Bill’s impacts within 12–24 months

To ensure early detection of unintended consequences, the Committee may wish to consider: * Mandating an independent evaluation of administrative, fiscal and cross-system impacts * Requiring public reporting to Parliament * Enabling corrective legislative action if adverse impacts emerge I welcome any further inquiries or requests for clarification from the Committee and am available to provide additional data or context in writing. Thank you for considering this risk assessment. Nicola Ross GradDip (Mental Health & Neuroscience) BNursing / BEarly Childhood Teaching (0-5) Nursing Representative / Justice Health Clinical Ethics Advisory Panel