National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1725
25 May 2026
Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
deeply concerned about proposed cuts to Social and Community Supports in the NDIS Bill.
Brain Injury Matters has worked hard to build and sustain a strong network of peer support groups for people with ABI across Victoria. We now support 11 peer groups in metropolitan and regional communities, meeting weekly or fortnightly. These groups are led by people with lived experience of brain injury and provide far more than social connection. They create opportunities for skill-building, mutual support, information sharing, confidence, and empowerment, while reducing the profound isolation many people experience after brain injury.
The benefits of peer support for people with disability and mental health challenges are well established. Research specific to ABI also demonstrates clear positive outcomes. Attached is a summary of findings from research conducted by The University of Melbourne, co-designed with Brain Injury Matters, which highlights the significant benefits of peer support groups for people with ABI.
Social isolation and loneliness remain among the most significant issues facing people with ABI in our community. For the past five years, Brain Injury Matters’ Annual Needs Survey has consistently identified combating social isolation and loneliness as the organisation’s highest priority. For many of our members, their peer support group is the only regular, non-clinical community activity they participate in. Attendance is often only possible because participants can access support workers
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1725
and NDIS funding through Social and Community Supports. Cuts to this funding will
directly reduce participation, increase isolation, and remove one of the few
meaningful forms of community connection available to people living with ABI.
One of our members recently said to me, “Peer support is life support”. This reflects
the experience of many of the more than 200 people who benefit regularly from Brain
Injury Matters’ peer support program.
Peer support is not an optional extra. It is a practical, cost-effective way to help
people with ABI remain connected, build confidence, develop skills, and live
meaningful lives in their communities. When people lose access to peer connection
and community participation, the result is often declining mental health, crisis npresentations, and greater long-term pressure on health and disability systems.
Reducing access to Social and Community Supports will undermine these outcomes
and further marginalise people who already face significant barriers to participation.
I urge you to ensure that proposed changes to the NDIS do not reduce access to
Social and Community Supports for people with ABI.
Yours sincerely,
Col Brokenshire
Chairperson