Submission

Disability Services

SDA Housing Provider

Warrah Specialist School

Warrah Biodynamic Farm & Farm Shop

Submission Date: June 9th, Year: 2026

Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs - Executive Summary (June 2026)

The Warrah Society welcomes this opportunity for submission regarding [the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment] Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill.

Warrah is a not-for-profit organization serving over six decades in New South Wales’ Hills District; supporting individuals living at home or attending day programs and school students who have profound intellectual disabilities requiring complex care with no reduction of services provided.

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

Submission 1732

Summary of Recommendations

• Amend Schedule 1, Part 4 (section 34A), requiring individual safety assessments before any support determination takes effect for participants with high and complex support needs.
• Protect SIL residents’ right to request plan reassessment through supported decision making in Schedule 1, Part 2 section 48A; clarify that increased seizure activity requires more carers as documented changes affecting health status constitute qualifying circumstances;
• Remove or substantially amend Schedule 3, Part 2 sections 59B–59E prohibiting automated decisions on critical supports without skilled human review from experts,
• Establish a mandatory transition risk framework including minimum notice periods monitoring provider viability implementing managed protocols ensuring continuity care for residents participating individuals; Commit immediately independently conducted review impact current proposed NDIS funding people complexity high support needs taking effect bill’s provisions take effect; Suspend implementation administrative decisions anticipate effects bill passage Parliament Warrah other providers already absorbing financial impacts mirror what would authorise Parliament opportunity consider powers granted pending passage.

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

Submission 1732

and deep familiarity of our service model are not incidental to good care: they are the care. Participation in our community is a matter of genuine choice for participants and their families. Independent surveys consistently record high satisfaction among participants and their advocates, reflecting a model of care built on decades of trust and deep personal knowledge.

• We employ approximately 300 staff. We are a registered NDIS provider, a registered SDA publisher under the Education Act(NSW).We are not profit entity.Every dollar revenue we receive directed people support.

4.We currently navigating acute financial crisis driven directly NDLS funding decisions.We have absorbed significant unfunded costs because duty values demand it.Cannot continue do so.Bill provisions as drafted will compound this crisis place organisation depend at serious risk.

Schedule Part Support Determination Section(Section)

What Does The Bill Do?

5.New section empowers Minister make legislative instrument that reduces specified percentage,funding component amount group supports across all affected old framework plans.Reduction applies whenever plan next renewed or reassessed.It operates by force law without individual review.The only constraint must ‘have regard safety participant’(s).

The second reading amendment moved Mrs McIntosh correctly notes government has repeatedly failed meet own growth targets raises adequacy fraud integrity controls.Support observation.However mechanism s does target fraud misuse Reduces funding category including those highest most legitimate needs blunt percentage instrument.

Our Concerns: The explanatory memorandum identifies Assistance with Social Community Civic Participation example for determination.This is direct from parallel administrative decision reduce SCCP funding approximate per cent October Warrah already witnessed human impact of in advance passage. Following cases represent lived experience policy practice drawn current participant cohort.

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

Submission 1732

David

David has been part of Warrah since he was 11 years old. He recently received a 53 percent reduction in his Social and Community Participation funding following an unrequested plan reassessment. David has significant physical support needs and requires one-to-one support for safe mobility, transfers and behaviour management. His previous funding allowed him to participate safely in his day program and community activities. Under his new plan, that support has been cut to a level that cannot safely meet his needs. David risks losing access to the community he has belonged to for decades, not because his needs have changed but because the funding available to support him has been reduced.

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

Submission 1732

The memorandum intended does so without engaging individual circumstances.

Recommendation:

Amend section 48A to require safety assessments before reducing critical supports, giving rights-of-merits review, establishing minimum floors on reductions.

Schedule 1 Part II Limit Plan Reassessments Section

(Section)

What Does This Do?

New section sets conditions needed; reassessment can proceed if there’s significant change due eligible impairments meeting additional functional capacity or personal environmental criteria;

Concerns:

The new rules may make it hard for those with progressive conditions, acquired neurological issues, fluctuating needs to meet these standards even when genuine and urgent need exists. Natasha requested a re-evaluation but was denied as her seizure activity didn’t show one-to-one care needing more funding than usual overnight support. Under this rule, such denials would be embedded in legislation requiring evidence of substantial reduction impacting daily activities which might not always exist until clinical data is available leading participants into unsafe underfunded situations while waiting for proof. The bill also doesn’t address providers facing increased costs where staffing ratios are insufficient because funds aren’t enough.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment

Submission 1732

The Bill also limits who can request a reassessment to the participant, their plan nominee, or a child’s representative. This is a legitimate integrity measure; however, it may depend upon support availability and should explicitly provide supported decision making in exercise rights.

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

Submission 1732

is introducing automated decision-making systems which could negatively impact another population highly vulnerable people.

Section Analysis:

Paragraphs:

• For Warrah’s participants (‘paragraph number’): This group includes individuals who are unable self-advocate due to age or geographical distance from family members and lack support needs captured through standard assessment tools; an error made within such system cannot be corrected easily leading them into harm immediately that is almost impossible reverseable.
  • Section59E(3)** provides**: If there was failure ensuring actions taken were valid, it does not affect administrative action validity meaning unlawful automated decisions remain until set aside. Hence, a participant whose SIL funding cut off automatically will experience immediate damage with possible months-long rectification if at all.
  • We submit automation should avoid making critical safety-related decisions without mandatory skilled human review especially in profound intellectual disability cases where expertise of those involved matters significantly as their individuality and complexity aren’t legible by generic assessments or non-specialists; such reviews must involve experts familiarizing themselves thoroughly about each person’s unique profile rather than relying on standardized operating procedures alone.

Recommendation:

Amend Schedule Part Two prohibiting the use for automating decision affecting Safety Critical Supports (SIL/SDA) unless reviewed manually by someone having appropriate knowledge regarding specific disabilities profiles mentioned above before extending this mechanism further onto NDIS decisions based Robodebt Royal Commission recommendations.

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

Submission 1732

This submission would be incomplete if it did not address a risk that extends beyond the provisions of the Bill itself but is directly relevant to the Bill’s likely consequences in the sector: the risk of simultaneous cascading provider failure.

Warrah is not alone in facing an acute financial crisis.The combination of pressures pushing providers across the disability sector toward insolvency simultaneously:

• The proposed 50 per cent reduction to Social Community and Participation funding from October [2026], now foreshadowed by support determination mechanism section [34A]. For Warrah alone applying this percentage cut on SCCP funding among its participants would reduce revenue approximately $[3.85 million]. This represents actual funding supporting highly trained stable workforce with low turnover, cannot absorb through efficiency savings alone. The sector has warned about such scenario since at least [2024]
• Unilateral reductions SIL SDA during plan reviews reassessments which are already occurring and addressed by bill.
• Removal legacy stock arrangements existing residents when new supply remains severely constrained. Warrah actively developing additional capacity three years expects further before replacement available Removing legacy funding leaves nowhere for residents.
• Inflation employment costs insurance utilities capital works indexation prices matched
• Increased compliance regulatory arising registration requirements including NSW context specific workers compensation premiums portable long service leave obligations.
• Administrative cost navigating increasingly complex unpredictable NDIS decision making environment intensified as frequent adversarial plan review re-assessment have become more frequent and more adversarial.

These pressures not being experienced sequentially accumulating simultaneously entire small medium non-profit providers operate thin margins hold no meaningful buffer many organisations like Warrah provide housing care community individuals across decades they interchangeable other failure is ordinary commercial event.

When provider fails consequences people supported immediate severe Participants in SDA SIL overnight Support Workers employed closing provider absorbed other under financial stress Families of residents elderly parents face crisis manage Some those residents family all. The Government to our knowledge credible plan managing multiple medium-to-large disability fail close succession There managed

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

Submission 1732

transition protocol. There is no provider of last resort mechanism for residential disability services equivalent to those protections existing within aged care sector; there’s also an absence early warning system, alowing NDIA or Department identify financially distressed providers before they collapse; national disabilities service has recorded this risk across years but documentation hasn’t generated adequate policy response.

Section Analysis:

• Section 34A: Will accelerate financial deterioration among most at-risk categories due a ministerial determination reducing SCCP funding by half—potentially making operation impossible for some providers.

The Committee should understand failure scale would mean elderly parents receiving phone calls saying their son/daughter home closing, participants with complex needs being placed emergency settings where no one knows them, admitted hospital because no available specialist knowledge takes them. This destruction relationships and behavioral understanding built over decades central to health wellbeing not incidental features our participant’s care.

We call on committee recommend government develop publish before bill support determination provisions take effect:

• Sector viability impact assessment modeling current proposed funding changes’ effects registered NDIS providers attention SIL SDA providers. - Managed transition protocols ensuring continuity in event provider fails including housing continuity both SDA nonSDA residents.
  • Provider distress early warning systems allowing the NDIA identifies responds failing providers point of collapse.
  • Minimum notice period less than twelve months any ministerial reduction more that twenty percent category.

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

Submission 1732

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Participants

• Paragraphs: The second reading amendment moved by Ms Le raises additional barriers faced by culturally diverse communities accessing engagement within the NDIS. Warrah endorses these concerns due complexity in administrative environment impacting equitable outcomes, such as restrictions plan reassessment requests automated decision-making provisions sections compliance requirements all land more heavily families face language barriers lower digital literacy cultural unfamiliarity Australian processes Government should publish CALD impact assessment before access planning provisions take effect.

Conclusion:

*Points:

• Warrah Society has served most vulnerable community over years navigated policy changes funding reforms sector restructuring never raised this gravity concern previously.*
• People we support profound intellectual disability do recover impairments permanent dependency consistent skilled relationship-based support profound argument sustainable correct scheme funds people with high complex needs levels that cannot safely meet those needs*

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill

Submission: [Redacted]

The submission argues that a proposed amendment is not sustainable as it transfers costs onto providers, families, ultimately on individuals. The Committee should recommend amendments protecting participants with high support needs while introducing safeguards for decision-making processes before sector collapse impacts vulnerable Australians.