Submission 1658

Submission NDIS Proposed Changes 2026

What Does The NDIS Mean For You Right Now?

My daughter is 28 years old, She had down syndrome and autism. She has a Functional Assessment Report dated 20 January 2025 stating she requires 24 hour support to ensure engagement and safety in the home and community. Further she is highly dependent on her support staff to effectively manage her personal care and complete domestic tasks. Also she is not safe in the community without 1:1 support and presents with challenging behaviours with change of routine, staff and activities. She also can take up to 12 months to become familiar with or comfortable with new people or activities.

Currently the NDIS provides security and the knowledge that is in safe and secure housing with 2 other participants. She has the available care required to maintain a dignified lifestyle. It allows my husband and I who currently receive a disability and carer pension ourselves to feel safe in the knowledge that our daughter is cared for.

How Do You Feel About The Proposed Changes To The NDIS Act?

The way I understand it is that the government are looking to reduce funding. If they reduce Social and Community Supports this will directly limit the quality of life and care that our daughter is currently provided. A reduction will decrease the social aspect of her lifestyle which is already limited and much less than the average person.

Submission 1658

Do you feel these changes have been explained clearly enough?

Currently the only information I have received regarding any changes is through social media. I have received no correspondence directly from the government or from departments within the government which manage the NDIS and my daughters life.

What would these changes mean for you, your family, friends, carers, or community?

For my family, it has already increased my worries of how will get by without more involvement directly from us as ageing parents.

For carers, there would be less hours available for them to work with so their income would be reduced.

eAs a further comment on the use of hours of community access there are doctor appointments, blood tests, heart checks, dentist visits etc which are vital parts of her life that she is required to attend. Who would manage this?

What would happen if your social and community supports were reduced or removed?

      has 2 days per week with different services focusing on art and social participation. Other days she is with independent support workers who have worked with her for many years. On the week ends she also has independent support workers take her out as funds allow.  If she is at home the support ratio changes to 1:3 thus to leave the house all 3 tenants must agree. The outing typically involves 2 workers with 3 clients.

Submission 1658

When she goes out with her 1:1 workers it is due to their strong encouragement that she participates in gym and swimming. Exercise is a very important part of her routine as she is very overweight. She will walk around a shopping centre with support and this is exercise. She also enjoys visiting Sea Life Aquarium to see the fish. She travels on the train to the city for a ferry ride. She meets up with others with their support workers. She really enjoys celebrating birthdays - singing and cake. She does some cooking with another client and worker - this encourages her to participate. She goes to dinner club once a month with other clients and their workers.

All of which are normal average activities, but for requires support.

So to answer the question of how would reducing hours for community access for my daughter, effect her, I would say she would be very lonely, very inactive, captured in an environment of inactivity.

As a mother this would be very difficult to see. Knowing how many years I have spent in time and money and therapy working to desensitise her sensory and auditory issues allowing her to access community. To improve her walking and perception abilities. To manage to be able to be in a crowded space with people. To work through communication and behaviour issues. To see sitting on her own at a table would be heart breaking when I know the enjoyment she gets from spending time with her support workers being pushed outside her comfort zone to enjoy life to the best of her ability.

The government has had a massive push for inclusion in the community. It would be detrimental to the community also if people were less included in the community.

Submission 1658

The Government has had a strong focus on inclusivity not only with disability but lgbt and multiculturalism, and it appears that this is a complete reversal of current policy associated with inclusion. People like redacted who has already very limited access because of current funds would have even less. This would not only be a disadvantage to my daughter but also to the community.

When redacted is at home she sits in the same chair all the time and listens to music on her iPad. She does not understand movies or participate in games or crafts or any other type activity. She is unable to carry on a conversation. She really needs community access to extend her life experience.

If redacted is not going out in the community living life the question I ask is where is she to be: Does the government expect that she stays at home of 5th majority of the week without any form of normal community access.

What would happen if your capacity building supports were reduced or removed - or if you never had access to them in the first place?

The capacity for redacted to function in settings such as her day at and her day at redacted and outings with carers all come from her current level of access with professionals, be it carers or otherwise. If removed she would most likely become housebound, gaining weight, and acting out with more bad behaviours due to boredom.

Thank you