National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1605
To the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee,
My name is . I am a Deaf person living in Melbourne. I am also autistic. I have been Deaf and autistic from birth.
I was diagnosed at 10 months old. In 2022 at the age of 29 I became an NDIS participant.
Before I had NDIS funding I participated in education and employment at a signficant personal cost in ways which were not sustainable. As a result I struggled socially, experienced major burnout and fatigue, failed my first year of tertiary education resulting in exclusion from the degree, failed to keep employment in some jobs and did not have access to the Deaf community. Since becoming an NDIS participant all of this has changed positively.
NDIS funding for me since 2022 has allowed me to access employment in a fulfilling career (therapeutic horticulture at a charity NDIS services provider working with disabled people to provide meaningful and positive experiences through gardening).
It has also funded hearing aids for me, without which I would not be able to have a meaningful relationship with my hearing family and hearing friends.
Interpreter funding has helped me access health care, social events, community sport and more. In 2024 I was able to continue being involved in a community AFL team by coaching, which was only possible with the use of interpreters.
Mental health supports which were funded in my first plan allowed me to adequately manage the impacts of being Deaf and Autistic on my life and manage my own mental health to be able to continue being employed and have meaningful relationships with family and friends.
Through my work I spend time alongside many other disabled people, many of whom have significant permanent ongoing disabilities such as intellectual disabilities, autism, conditions impacting their mobility and more. Most of the people I work with require significant support, many requiring around the clock care to stay alive and live meaningfully. Many of these people are concerned like I am about how new changes to the NDIS will negatively impact them, their family and their supports.
In regards to the proposed changes in the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. I am especially concerned about:
- My access to supports which allow me to access employment and other aspects of daily life
- Use of automated decision-making
- Removal of references to the UN disability rights principles
- New ministerial power to cut funding across entire categories without needing to pass legislation
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1605
- Dangerously vague wording regarding an “impairment” only being considered permanent if further treatment is unlikely to “materially improve, reverse or alleviate the impact…”. Use of the word “alleviate” means any treatment that provides support for someone’s disability will then classify the disability as non-permanent.
- For example, I am Deaf. I was born Deaf, and my hearing will not get better, only worse. I wear hearing aids, paid for by the NDIS, to allow me to be employed. The above wording suggests that wearing hearing aids means my Deafness is not permanent, and that I would thus be ineligible to be an NDIS participant. I would then lose access to funding for hearing aids, as well as other supports like interpreting. This would affect my employment and significantly disable me from accessing normal parts of life.
- Standardised eligibility tests which are inappropriate for assessing many disabilities and the impact on the person.
My NDIS plan currently funds:
- Auslan interpreters or Auslan support workers
- Assistive technology (hearing aids and associated devices)
- Support coordination
- Therapy (OT)
- Equipment (vibrating and flashing alarms for fires, doorbells and personal alarm clock)
These supports are not extras. They are how I communicate and take part in daily life. Without them I will not be able to continue accessing employment and will face barriers to engaging in every day life.
In every workplace I have been in, there are significant barriers I have faced to accessibility and equal inclusion. Without hearing aids I would not be able to maintain any relationship with my hearing family who do not know Auslan. EAF funding provides some access to limited interpreting hours and workplace modifications and Deaf Awareness training which can provide some support to my employment, but maintaining this employment would not be possible without supports that can only be funded by NDIS such as my hearing aids.
Without access to interpreters I will face significant barriers to accessing health care. I will also struggle to access social events.
Without access to assistive technology like flashing and vibrating fire alarms and doorbells, I am unsafe in my own home.
Without my current supports, I will find it harder to:
- Communicate with doctors, teachers, employers, and services
- Access services and complete administrative tasks
- Attend community events, classes, or social activities
- Be more independent and safe
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1605
- Stay connected with family and friends
- Build new relationships and maintain them without being burnt out (neighbours, medical professionals, fellow students)
- Manage my mental health and wellbeing
Deaf and hard of hearing people already face significant barriers to participation in Australian society. We are a linguistic cultural minority that has faced great oppression since Milan 1880. Many of us rely on NDIS funding not because we choose to, but because there is no other way to access communication support.
Cutting community participation funding by 50% will push many Deaf Australians further into isolation. Social isolation is directly linked to poor mental health outcomes, unemployment, and dependence on other government services. These costs will not disappear — they will simply move elsewhere in the budget.
I am asking the Committee to:
- Reject or significantly amend the proposed 50% cut to community participation funding
- Provide adequate time and community consultation periods which are supported to be accessible for all disabled Australians before proposing new bills relating to the NDIS
- Protect communication access supports including Auslan interpreters, speech pathology, and assistive technology
- Consult meaningfully** with the Deaf and hard of hearing community before any further changes are made — in Auslan, not only written English
Thank you for reading my submission.
Yours sincerely,
27/5/2026