NDIA Accountability Project

Cri Du Chat syndrome teenager's access to literacy and communication class

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

Submission 1901

28/05/2026

Dear Senate Committee,

My name is , and I am a teacher in a School. I am currently on Long Service Leave and remain connected with many young adults who have diagnosed vision and hearing impairments and intellectual and physical disabilities. Many would describe them as having multiple and significant disabilities. These young adults are all NDIS participants. I am an after-school support worker for a teenager with Cri Du Chat syndrome, who is also a NDIS participant.

As a senior teacher and advocate for young people with disabilities, I am deeply concerned that the proposed reforms to NDIS will reduce access to essential supports and undermine participant choice and control. My role as an educator is to explore student interests, build capacity and establish pathways that lead to ‘living a great life.’ If social and community supports are reduced or removed participants will not maintain choice and control over the resources they need to ‘live a great life’ and participate fully in their community.

  • Lifelong learning is for everyone, therefore inclusion and support matters.

    I connect with six young adults and their support workers each week at the local library where I voluntarily teach a literacy and communication class. This class has been specifically designed for these young adults who wish to pursue further education but cannot easily access TAFE or university due to the amount of differentiation and support required. As they communicate in ways other than spoken words, these young adults require a communication partner, and a class with an educator, where Augmentative and Alternative Communication systems are valued and understood and course content is significantly differentiated to meet learning needs. If social and community supports are reduced or removed, these young adults would not have choice and control over continued learning options or the necessary resources to access further education in meaningful and accessible ways.

  • Everyone should have the opportunity to contribute to their community and enjoy the benefits of increased self-esteem because of their contribution.

NDIS has provided valuable and necessary supports for Australians with disabilities to participate fully in the community. As a senior secondary educator, I have experienced firsthand how choice and control have allowed young people with disabilities and their families to pursue microenterprise based on personal interest. In 2025, I worked alongside three year 12 students and their families to turn the hobby of making dog biscuits into a post school microbusiness. The right support workers have been essential in establishing the work schedule and the output for each stage of the biscuit making process. At this current time, CCTM Prize Treats has an established customer base in their local community and a social media following on Facebook. The young adults who operate this business have a valued social role. They take pride in their good name and the contribution they make to the dog families in their community. If social and community supports are reduced or removed these young entrepreneurs would not have the necessary resources to continue to build capacity and grow their business and build a life that is theirs. Without the right supports these young adults would not enjoy the social role valorisation that work affords other Australians.

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

Submission 1901

  • Social inclusion matters for every Australian’s mental health and wellbeing.

All human brains thrive on connection with others. If social and community supports are reduced or removed the young people with disabilities that I know will become socially isolated and suffer reduced mental health and wellbeing as a result. NDIS social and community support allow these young people with disabilities the choice and control to connect with their peers in social groups and interest-based activities by providing appropriate physical assistance for access and communication partner support for social conversation.

As an Australian citizen I expect to live a life where I have responsibilities, rights and choices. I have the responsibility to work and contribute to the community I live in. I have the right to belong to community groups based on my interests and the responsibility to nurture and maintain the friendships I’ve made. I have the right to enjoy the self esteem boost that I get from my work and my social roles. I enjoy freedom of choice in my non work hours about where I will go, what I will do and who I will see. This is my life, the life I expect to have as an Australian citizen. Australian people with disabilities are Australian people. They expect to have a life with responsibilities, rights and choices.

With the right supports my young friends with disabilities can build a life with responsibilities, rights and choices. They can work, volunteer and contribute to the community. They can nurture and maintain their friendships and enjoy the self esteem boost that comes with belonging and contribution. They can enjoy the freedom of choice and have control in their life.

NDIS decisions must remain individualised and evidence based to ensure that the young people that I know, and other people with significant and multiple disabilities just like them, can build a life that every ordinary Australian person expects.

Ensure NDIS remains a valuable resource for all Australians with disabilities and that it provides the necessary supports for them to live independently and participate fully in the community.