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

Submission 1636

Dear Committee members

My name is Carolyn D’\uC5D7ruz, an academic by profession, with over thirty years of engaging with students and their support networks. Having taught undergraduates and postgraduates with disabilities, I am painfully aware of the negative impact that the proposed changes to the NDIS will most likely have on such students. I am therefore writing to you to oppose the proposed bill. At least ( { }^{+} % ){ }of studentsIhave taugh toverthe last few decades wered ealingwith someform o fdisability, w hich placed enormou s constraintsontheir abilityto meet deadlines,andt oa ttendandparticipate in classes anda ndass essments.S om eo fs te st udents didnot formally registerwit ho ur equitya n ddiversity programs,b ut disclosed tome th atthey hadoutside helpfrom communityorganisationsandsocialnetworks madeavailabletot hem.A ccesstosocia lgroups,l ocalsk ilssh aring a ndpeer su pporthas beenessential tot heirwellbeinganda nc apacitytor u filmandatory requirementsforpassingsubjectsi taught.E venthosestudi entsregisteredwi thu nequ ity ad ndiversitydependedone xtracommunityandas socialsu pp orttok epconnectedansuppor tedin theirs studies.T heproposedcutsosocial,civicadncommunityp articipationwil hav animpact notonlyonthedailyliveso fp ersonsw ithd isabilitiesbut willha ve then koon effect ofimpeding study withincreasedlikelihoodoffailingtocompletesc ourses.

I am also concerned that mandatory registrationwill preventstudentsw ith disabilities from being able to decide for themselves howtomanage and chooseworkerswithwhotheytrustandeel ffe r m o w h ic h t e s .I personally know those who have nominated their own providers, anda no ls ookt hosewhoare employed as support workers.Furthermore,h av ing witnessed the stressthat deadlines,newrulesandbureaucraticformfillingpresentsto studentswithdisabilitie,s,I urgethe committeetolistentot hose whow illbe mostaffectedby proposedchanges. P lease take my concerns seriously ,oppose th e proposal,andsupport amendmentstha tt wil serve -not impede-the wellbeingof peoplewit hd is abilities.SincerelyCarolyn D’\uC5D7ruz