Submission on the NDIS Amendment Bill

Name: redacted I am:

• Family member / supporter
• Advocate

1. Introduction/my connection to this issue

We have been engaged with the NDIS through our children since 2022. When my son started Prep, it became clear he was struggling, not just with learning but everyday basics of his twin brother’s level self-care skills were at. Initially funded therapy privately believing fortunate enough manage it What quickly learned that allied health limited especially regional area live progress slow layered ongoing Cause→Effect Limited access + high cost → delayed inconsistent support increasing need over time Even incomes becoming unsustain Over last year lives changed Anticipated Now two children diagnosd autism adhd significant anxiety also has developmental coordination disorder On paper Children look similar in reality They could no difference This gap –between System captures Paper Life actual Looks Reform Risks Causing Harm

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1573

Overall position on this Bill

• I have serious concerns / do not support it. This Bill risks introducing rigidity into a system that must remain responsive to human lives which can be anything but predictable.`

Cause -> Effect:

Rigid systems -> delayed or inappropriate support -> escalation of need -> higher long-term cost (human & economic)``Disability, particularly in children, isn’t static; needs unfold over time — sometimes gradually, suddenly, even during crises`

Key Concerns

Community participation

Support workers are bridges between care — and independent learning My son has learned through therapy how he understands his emotions and responses. But such insights don’t happen isolatedly `.It happens real-life at parks movies social settings other kids take granted .

Cause->Effect:Therapy alone -> insight without application`

Support worker in community -> safe practice -> confidence -> independence There is clear developmental progression:Parental responsibility -> Support worker scaffolding -> Independence.``

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1573

Support workers sit at the heart of this progression: without them, children don’t bridge gaps—they remain dependent longer sometimes indefinitely.

This isn’t just “nice to have.” It’s how independence builds.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1573

The only change in his life was that his school reduced his 1:1 support to a shared model. Within 10 weeks, we lost our child as we knew him.He went from:

• a happy, gentle and engaged learner to

a child unable to walk independently -unable to leave the house -unable to communicate or participate in family lifeHe was still physically present in our home but not able to be part of it.Cause → Effect: Reduced school support → sustained overload → acute burnout → loss of function → increased NDIS and family support needsThis was not theoretical.It was a medical and functional crisis.And at this moment, support coordination is essential.I have expertise in education policies and understand how they interact closely with other services like NDIS.We experienced a child whose world had collapsed and there’s an urgent need for those systems to respond together.

Administrative burdenWhy support coordination is essentialI am professional experience policy system workforce capability now require coordinator navigate ndisCause → Effect:

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

Submission 1573

System Complexity

• Families Cannot Self-Navigate
  • Reliance On Intermediaries
    • Funding Diverted From Direct Support

Support Coordination Is Not Inefficiency — It is A Necessary Response To A System That Has Become Too Complex. If Someone Like Me Cannot Navigate It Confidently Many Others Cannot Either.

Workforce Participation

Childcare -> NDIS -> Employment I Have Worked Consistently Throughout My Adult Life. Before Childcare Reform, I Could Not Increase My Working Hours Without It Costing More Than I Earned. Reform Changed That. Cause –> Effect: Accessible childcare –> increased workforce participation –> economic contribution I Held Onto My Career Through Years Of Balancing Work And Parenting. But When Experienced Burnout: **Cause –> Effect:Increased care + system navigation–> unsustainable load -> forced resignation For The First Time in My Working Life, I Had to Step Away from Employment.We Are Now a One-Income Family.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill

Submission: [Your reference number]

Without Appropriate Support…

The text below discusses long-term impacts on society due to inadequate early intervention.

Early Intervention Prevents Future Costs

The submission highlights that insufficient support during critical developmental stages can lead to escalating issues later:

• Reduced Childhood Support -> Unmet Needs Escalate

  This escalates into Disengagement From School leading directly towards Behavioural Distress, or further complications like Increased Risk In Adolescence involving Mental Health Crises or Justice System Involvement.

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

Submission 1573

My lived / professional experience

• I have built a career contributing to organisations and communities.
  • I worked hard to maintain employment while raising my children, even though long days were involved, childcare since childhood, and constant balancing. We made decisions in order to create stability through education, steady work, contributing our community, not relying on support unless it was truly needed. And even when reached burnout, it wasn’t enough: I had no choice but resign from job servicing vulnerable people, something loved doing. That’s reality many families face: We follow everything right, yet still reach point where system determines whether we continue participating or not.

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

Submission 1573

What needs to change or be protected

• Protect support worker access as the bridge to independence
• Maintain flexibility to respond to changing needs
• Recognise that children’s needs evolve over time
• Retain support coordination as essential, not optional
• Design reform with system interaction in mind, not in silos
• Focus on regulating providers and inefficiencies, not reducing participant supports
• Protect continuity of trusted allied health relationships

Final statement

This is not just about funding. It is about outcomes.

When supports are in place:

• Children participate,
• Families contribute,
• Independence grows.

*When supports are reduced:

• Families leave the workforce,*
• Children disengage,**
• And costs are pushed downstream.* The NDIS, when working as intended, is not a cost — it is an investment in people, participation, and in the future of our communities.I ask the committee to consider my lived experience when reviewing this Bill.