National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1861
Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission made anonymously by grandparents and parents of NDIS participants
Introduction
We make this submission anonymously as grandparents of two grandchildren currently supported by the NDIS, and as parents of an adult son who also relies on disability supports.
Our family has seen firsthand how essential properly funded and individually tailored disability supports are. The NDIS has provided opportunities, dignity, stability and safety that would otherwise not have been possible.
We are deeply concerned that the proposed legislative changes risk reducing these protections and shifting the Scheme away from its original purpose of supporting Australians with disability to live full and meaningful lives.
We support reform that improves sustainability, accountability and fraud prevention. However, this must not come at the expense of participant rights, family stability, or essential supports.
Key Concerns
We are concerned that this Bill gives excessive discretionary power to the Minister and the NDIA without sufficient safeguards, transparency or parliamentary oversight.
We are particularly concerned about:
Reductions to participant choice and individualised planning The risk of broad funding cuts across support categories Inadequate protections for people with complex, fluctuating and invisible disabilities The lack of clear objections and appeals pathways The absence of fully developed foundational supports before major Scheme changes are introduced The risk of automated decision-making replacing human judgement The impact these changes will have on unpaid carers, particularly women and ageing family members Families like ours already provide significant unpaid care and support. Weakening participant supports does not remove need it simply transfers greater burden onto families, many of whom are already stretched beyond capacity.
Recommendations
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 1861
We call on the Committee to recommend:
Rejecting provisions that allow broad reductions across support categories Protecting participant rights to individualised assessment, planning and review Limiting ministerial powers and strengthening parliamentary oversight Ensuring fluctuating and complex disabilities are explicitly protected Preserving social and community participation funding Protecting capacity-building supports as essential long-term investment Requiring a full human rights impact assessment before this legislation proceeds Conducting genuine co-design with disabled people, families and carers Assessing the gendered economic impact on women and unpaid carers Prioritising provider regulation and fraud prevention over participant restriction Ensuring human oversight of all AI-supported decision-making Requiring NDIA staff involved in assessments and planning to hold relevant disability and allied health expertise Creating a fairer, tiered provider registration model that does not disadvantage sole traders and small providers Delaying implementation until foundational supports and related programs are fully operational and funded Guaranteeing a fair, transparent and accessible objections and appeals process
Conclusion
The NDIS represents one of Australia’s most important social reforms.
Any changes to the Scheme must strengthen participant protections, not weaken them.
We respectfully ask the Committee to ensure that any reform protects the rights, dignity and future of Australians with disability and the families who support them.