National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1690
Dear Senate Committee
I am writing to add my support to submissions to the Senate Committee Inquiry into the NDIS Bill. It is extremely regrettable that only a 2-week time frame has been set for submissions for a Bill of such magnitude and complexity. Feedback should be provided from the people most directly affected by the Bill and surely as a parliamentarian and representative of your electorate you must feel obliged to give the Bill adequate scrutiny. There has also been a glaring absence of public consultation on the Bill which contradicts the principle meant to guide actions under the Act which states that “People with disability are central to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and should be included in a co-design capacity”. Two weeks is inadequate for thorough examination of the documents and is most likely an unusually short period of time compared to other Bill inquiries.
The Bill betrays a further foundational principle guiding actions under the NDIS Act: “People with disability and their families and carers will receive the care and support they need over their lifetime.” According to the Bill, even after assessments have been made the Minister of the day will have powers to place arbitrary limits and /or blanket reductions of up to 100% on any supports, for any participants at any time. This means participants may no longer receive the care and support they need and families have little certainty from one plan to the next, much less over a lifetime. Both participants and their families will live in constant fear about which of their supports will be cut next, by how much and for how long. My disabled niece, along with many others will live with this uncertainty and fear.
I think it is not fully understood by policy makers and economic managers that the NDIS support individual people to navigate a system which will determine whether they can leave the house, maintain some employment or even access basic day to day care. Many people rely on the support they receive to maintain a level of independence and respect and fend off chronic isolation and loneliness. Perhaps you need to be reminded that the NDIS’s prime purpose and intention was to provide a structural and necessary system to help ensure the dignity, and autonomy of its participants. It seems that the NDIS has been reduced to an item in the budget instead of a purposeful way of offering people choice to live self-directed lives.
I trust that you will give due consideration to my statement and all the others that you will receive in the duration of and beyond this inquiry.