National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1710
I am in my late 50s and provide care, support and advocacy for my elderly mother living with dementia in residential care, my autistic daughter with ADHD who is establishing a small business, her husband with ADHD who works in mental health and my 5-year-old grandchild who has Autism and ADHD. My background is in teaching, administration and small businesses. My grandchild is intelligent, has a remarkable memory, a large vocabulary and loves learning about and caring for animals. They also have hypermobility that makes them clumsy, strong sensory reception, and understands the world in atypical ways. They do not cope well with change and transitions. They find their age peers unpredictable and are frightened of loud sounds, new people and large groups. They do not understand social communication and although they can learn explicit rules to cope with social situations, when others do not follow the same rules, they become anxious and fearful. They have burned out of both day care and kindergarten. Burnout presents as refusal to attend or leave home activities including those enjoyed by themselves; need control over surroundings and environment choices; loss ability verbal response due to anxiety leading into physical reactions such as kicking/hitting/biting carers. Even saying hello perceived demand requiring response from carer. It takes months recovery burnouts after low-demand safe known caregivers family environments where maximum choice/controls adults negotiate most decisions prepare child upcoming changes using stories prompts timers best return able verbally respond distressing demands calmly storm off room tell caregiver ‘leave alone’ firm voice calm down capacity coping fluctuates medication helps focus/anxiety management All this context parents own diagnoses ADHD despite medications inconsistent remembering taking scripts filling giving child medication interest areas function well but attention poor executive functioning skills make chaotic unpredictability inconsistency late diagnosis means struggle mental health therapy ongoing loving gentle parents professional knowledge emotionally supportive environment for child impact neurodiversity creates more stress/inconsistency all them Autism permanent difference brain development daughter grandchild autistic life learning strategies help cope typical world often masking needs understanding sacrificing their own mental health efforts fit in never be typical appear different unexpected responses taunts typical others who haven’t learned kind accommodate differences Expectation fit-in discriminatory additional burden disability emotional cost capacity needed mask classroom little if any learning occurs while autistic child focuses managing social communication surviving day exhausting causes harm mental health For example After researching school options communications with the learning support staff about available though insufficient accommodations and a social story prepared visit my daughter took grandchild to prep class visited chickens particular interest grandchild shy spoke little throughout visit returned parked car dysregulated stripped clothes touch fabric too much began hitting scratching mother This was introduction familiarize However grandchild perceived school environment they were too dysregulated attend without significantly more accommodation than could
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1710
provide. Even if they had the capacity to mask, you would have no capacity left to learn anything.They are too intelligent to progress wellin Special School environment,and Thriving Kids has yettobe rolled out inschools sothey don’thave access toundaptive education at present.TheN DIS doesnot fund school costsbutthe changes inelegibility tonedis needs towait untilThriving kidsis inplaceandrealisticallyabletometeneedsof childrenwit disability n eligibleforNDIS .Both my autistic daughter anda grandchild currently havendis plansanda ccess both Support Coordinator ana Plan Manager services.Mygrand child stillneeds one twoone attention much everydayboth their parentsare burntout from jugglingtheir work caring roles,theirown challenges related ta autism an adhd ,an dth eir mental health with very little time fore i r own relationship The impact of loss nd IS supports fo either o themwould be a wrecking ball throughlives because family is stretched and stressed trying managewithsupports there isno adequate alternative meet nee s available My grandchil ha Level3 Autism,andsuchhas notyet been removedfromndis under government’s initial announcementchanges NDIS where those mild moderateAutism will no longerbe supported by NDIs However current changesto the NDIS Bill that before Senate inquiry Government unilaterally narrowly redefines participant eligibility defines long list exclusions likely exclude my grandchild Australia signatory UN Convention Rights Persons Disabilities understand scheme need sustainable thisBill discriminates against people disabilities forthoseeligible limits rightsunderConvention Disabilities come without context whole person environmentGovernment gone too far cutting necessary support limiting personseligibility based only aspectperson comorbidities home livingenvironment Children significantdisability responsibility parentssignificantly disabled needs likely out financial personal capacity most families Consideration given likelihood family may have moreparents disability sibling disability depleting resources capacity provide needed Where sigificant disabili one ormoreparentfamily members reduce working hours to care reducingcapacity earnliving Taxpayers become pensioners Without nIS plan cost therapists treatments are reach Familyfinancialresources stretch further other familymembers with disabilities afford therapiststreatments Families child disability already under financia strain,Bill states must now exhausted all treatment options first eligible ndis thesefamilies able accessafford individualtreatmentoptions Will Thriving Kids program fundprovideaccessthese treatment option Ifnotpeoplewithdisabilitie low incomes not be exhaustall treat mentoption thus excluded discriminated via inequity Further mandating all treatment options supporting researchmustbeexhaustedtoeligi blefornd is does not provide dignity choice in their treatment Just because supported byresearchexists mean would want that treatment Eg deep brain stimulation was a treatment option Parkinson’s many still choose invasive treatment The Bill changes eligibility from diagnosis functional capacity assessment Occupational Therapists study 4 year degree credentials dofunctional capacity assessments Government plans use NDIS staff AI tool future This appalling lowering standards question validity worth unprofessionalassessments People need assessmen ts reflect actual capacity poor substitute determined person qualifications conflict of interests N DIS could employ houseOccupationalTherapist validassessment tools feel private sector expensive wordy reports
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1710
provided by the person’s regular therapist or an independent therapist is going to reflect the person’s capacity most accurately.
The audit reports on fraud in the NDIS do make for alarming reading and as a taxpayer I do want the scheme to be sustainable, providing services to those that need them and not funding fraudulent providers or providing services that are not essential. The scheme did not have the fraud protections and auditable assessments that were needed from the start, and the NDIA was very slow to recognize this, investigate it, report it to government and put workable processes in place to stem the flow. For the Government and the NDIA to then demonize all NDIS participants and particularly Autistic people is dishonourable and an attempt to distract from their failure to set up and manage the scheme adequately. As with any Government scheme, if there are weaknesses in the design, fraudsters will take advantage, and participants will maximize services that are available. If it is all about sustainability, fix the fraud and limit services provided by the NIDS to those supports properly assessed as “needed”. Limiting eligibility is discrimination; limiting essential services or the size of plans is budgetary restraint. Bringing Plan Management and Support Coordination in house would return more control and oversight to the NDIS and limit fraud.
After the absolute scandal of the Robodebt scheme for Centrelink services, it is alarming and scandalous that the same people were employed to develop a similar scheme to