Submission Against Changes to the NDIS

My name is Hannah Matthews and I am the mother of a young adult male with a life-long intellectual disability. My son Seb works towards being an active member within our local community due largely because he receives support under National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIS helps him grow his independence; he started business which gives purpose for something meaningful work. He made friend though social & community budget via NDIS Bowling Group this so important about his wellbeing; his phone staring at rotting room without such support. Now wants live independently working very hard w/ amazing support workers achieve goal.

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

Submission 1750

I am deeply concerned about the increasing use of AI and computer based decision making in the NDIS. People with disabilities are human beings with individual circumstances. They are not data sets or algorithms. My son’s disability will never improve. Having him repeatedly prove his disability and justify his existence to a computer system is cruel, exhausting and degrading. Families are already burnt out from years of paperwork, stress and fighting for basic supports. These changes will make that even worse.

I am also concerned that these changes appear to place more emphasis on saving money than on outcomes for disabled Australians. Participants are not the problem. Fraudulent operators and poor oversight of the scheme are the problem. Families like ours should not be punished because the government has failed to properly regulate providers and fraud within the system.

If these changes go ahead many families will simply collapse under the pressure. Parents and carers are already carrying enormous emotional, physical and financial burdens. The NDIS gave many of us hope for the first time that our children could have meaningful lives after we are gone. These proposed changes take that hope away.

As a mother, one of my greatest fears is what happens to my son when I am no longer here. The NDIS has helped him start building the skills, relationships and confidence he will need to survive independently in the future. Reducing support now will undo years of progress and place vulnerable people at even greater risk of isolation, abuse and neglect.

Disabled Australians deserve dignity, inclusion, independence and choice. They deserve to participate in the community like everyone else. This Bill in its current form is harmful, rushed and deeply unfair and I strongly urge Parliament not to pass it.

Thank you Hannah Matthews