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

Submission 1580 Please do not pass the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 My sister is in her early 30’s and lives independently in regional Victoria. She has an incredibly full active life She runs her own small business works doing accessibility audits rides horses competitively, is flag scorer local footy club My sister also severe physical disability uses wheelchair speech impaired almost blind due rare degenerative disorder requires framework with worker side at all times live safe normal community this bill represents punitive fundamental shift away individualised care treating vulnerable Australians numbers spreadsheet leaving families permanent fear It collapses individualised care The mechanism introduced under Section A completely turns back on scheme By granting Minister unbridled power make systemic funding cuts support caps entire categories without plan reviews creates path least resistance designed herd people into homes government already used to target Social Civic Community Participation budget reduction Minister decision cut participation funding group that historically marginalised oppressed excluded from community conditions where abhorrent abuse permitted foster unjustifiable For my sister if hours slashed safety net collapses dangerous staff gaps day put immediate risk Furthermore giving Minister power anything drop means families constant pit stomachs What will next? Burden of care fall disproportionately forcing carers leave workforce entirely or it long-term financial cost directly onto state hospitals nursing homes I’m same career consistently thinking about professional future ability start family against possibility sister essential care withdrawn know not able both. The Minister should have no such power The Erosion rights appeal Hurdles absence natural justice Compounding danger Bill dictates funding via Ministerial determinations exempt merits review If Minister cuts keeping my sister alive we stripped right appeal independent tribunal terrifying violation自然正义 especially since many first hand examples NDIA routinely making administrative mistakes losing paperwork employing who do understand their own policies legislation.

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

Submission 1580

We know up to 90% of appeals inside the independent review system were overturned in favour of the participant.

Instead of fixing NDIA incompetence, this legislation has been surgically crafted to reduce appeals by making the hurdles practically impossible to clear. Requiring an individual appeal to prove it satisfies a “financial sustainability” marker effectively shuts down the pathway entirely. As the Bill also blocks standard plan variations for a “change of circumstances,” a top-down budget cut will throw a participant’s life into chaos without any legal avenue to fix it. The ability to participants to seek a merits review of decisions must be enshrined in the Bill.

The Bill is not consistent with Australia’s human rights obligations or democratic principles

The Bill is written in a way that is deliberately inconsistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The text actively removes the foundational human rights principles previously found in the legislation, replacing the requirement for support to be “reasonable and necessary” with a highly restricted definition of what the “NDIS will support.” This is designed to prevent the Federal Court from interpreting the law in a way that aligns with the UN CRPD, including Article 19 which explicitly states that people with disabilities have the right to live independently and must not be forced into congregate group living arrangements due to their impairment. The Bill also allows the Minister to make transitional rules that deal with matters relating to amendments or repeals in the Bill for the next 12 months (often called “Henry VIII clauses”). Allowing a Minister to make sweeping changes to the operation of the legislation without needing it to go through ordinary Parliamentary scrutiny is an extraordinary use of power, that is typically reserved for emergency customs regulations-not-for Billswhichwillimpactthe daily livesof themost vulnerable Australians. Thesenate Standing Committeeforth e Scrutiny ofBills has consistently maintainedthat HenryVIIIclausesrepresent asignificant departurefromdemocraticprinciples,andshouldberesistedbecause theyunderminethe central role of Parliamentin thelawmakingprocess Wemustlegislatestrictconstraints ontheminer’srule-makingpowers ,eliminateuseo fH enry V III claus esandretainandenshrinecompliancewiththenUNCR PD .

Isolated impairments vs whole-of-person approach The narrowing o Section34( ) demandstha supportm ust“directly”stem froma singlequalifyingimpairment, completely abandoning then traditionalwhole - personapproach Thisdisproportionately disadvantages participantswit h complex overlapping disabilities Inmysister’scase hermetabolicissuesherblindness andh er inability towalk interact constantly Evaluating here needs as isolated medical impairments complet ely ignores how her disabilitie s compound one another makesitanadministrative nightmaretogetwhat sheneeds When thismedicalisedbarrieriscombined withSection17 B whichforces theCEO to prioritisefinancial sustainability over individual capability,theBill sends a message t

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment

Submission 1580 disabled Australians: you are not worth living “if” * your* care *