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

Submission 1844

As an Occupational Therapist who is the grandmother of an autistic teenager and working in the community with NDIS participants, I would like to comment on the effect of the proposed changes. Firstly my granddaughter is in mainstream secondary school and doing well but would not be there but for the early intervention and support she and her mother received on diagnosis at around 2 years of age. Helping the family generally to understand the term and its implications has been essential. But specifically through Psychology, Occupational and Speech Therapy inputs her delayed development has been assisted, she herself has learnt strategies to manage her behaviour and engage in everyday activities especially around education. Without this input and certainly if she had only had integration aide / educational input she would not be where she is today. Crises during primary school days were de-escalated by input from these professionals, enabling her to remain at school and continue to learn and grow. The educators definitely did not have the depth of understanding or knowledge of relevant individual interventions to manage these situations. Her positive future is only possible due to these early interventions. However her positive future relies on her being able to access ongoing funding to allow future crises to be managed, for input to facilitate her learning and social integration.

I am also concerned for other families who will miss out on this early targeted professional allied health intervention under the new NDIS model. I read daily of parents being asked to provide 24/7 365 days specialised fully occupying care to children with complex needs. These parents are already statistically at extreme risk of relationship breakdown, mental health issues and collapses, and poverty through not being able to work due to care needs. If not assisted this will lead to institutionalisation of these children on a level we had decided in our society was not acceptable since the 1970s.

Secondly I see clients in the community, ranging in age from mid 30s to late 50 with complex physical needs whose lives have also been changed remarkably by NDIS assistance. Now these same people are experiencing pushback, with equipment not being repaired or replaced and plans being slashed. Many of the people are dependent on disability pensions and do not have the funds to repair / replace vital equipment . They are being ambushed by unexpected phone calls at odd hours which are “not plan reviews” but somehow result in a new plan with less funds. They feel unable to even discuss their situation with NDIS staff as a comment of “yes I am doing well “ will lead to a loss of funds. These same NDIS staff have no knowledge or understanding of the disability itself or the individual’s situation and then feed the information into an automated system which spits out a “one size fits all” response.

Submission 1844

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

Submission 1844

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