NDIA Accountability Project

NDIS provider opposes bill due to concerns about ministerial power and standardised functional capacity assessments

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

Submission 1803

My name is , I currently work with a NDIS provider and have worked in this space for 2.5 years. During my short time in the NDIS I have seen first-hand the impact of access to funding can have across participants in the Support Work and Behaviour Support space and I strongly oppose this bill.

My concerns about this bill are two-fold -

  • Changes to minister power:

NDIS funding is assigned based on individual needs, based on assessments and reports completed by various clinicians. The assessment process is gruelling for participants and their families and can result in denial of funding despite evidence. However, now Labour is planning to allow the Minister to cut funding to entire categories across the scheme without considering individual needs. This is a gross overreach of ministerial power.

  • Functional Capacity:

Currently our NDIS Act has no formal definition of Functional Capacity and assessment of NDIS funding is determined through reports from clinicians. The proposal in this bill to create standardised assessment criteria, completely flattens the complexities of living with a disability. Socio-cultural factors influence how disability manifests, is exacerbated and access to support. Through creating standardised assessment tools, persons who should be able to access the Scheme will be unable to access it.

I want to committee to understand that disability is not a one-size fits all category. Two individuals could have the same diagnoses but have completely diNerent lived experiences based on the social and cultural contexts such as race, gender, sexual orientation, class, education. I want the committee to understand that these factors will influence the individual’s presentation, their access to practitioners and overall their access to funding. I want it known that if this bill should pass, this government will directly impact lives, people will die, and parents, most commonly women, will be forced to take on unpaid care work to fill gaps where the NDIS should be stepping in.

I do not support this bill, it shifts the focus of fraud to participants, rather than focusing on regulating providers who take advantage of vulnerable people.