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

Submission 1910

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee

Inquiry into the NDIS Future Generations Bill 2026

29 May 2026

I’m writing as the sibling of someone with disability who is on the NDIS. I’m not an advocate or a professional, just a family member who has watched the scheme become a really important part of my sister’s life. It has given her access to supports that help her feel connected, capable, and part of her community. That matters to our whole family.

I oppose this Bill. I do understand there are concerns about the scheme’s long-term cost and I’m not dismissing that. But two parts of this Bill worry me a lot: the proposed 50% cut to social and community participation funding, and the new power it gives the Minister to reduce someone’s funding with no right of appeal.

Social and community participation is not an extra. For my sister it is how she sees people, builds skills, and gets out of the house. Cutting that category by half isn’t trimming around the edges; it goes right to the heart of what makes the scheme worthwhile. And section 34A troubles me just as much. Giving a minister the power to cut someone’s funding without them being able to challenge it feels wrong, especially for people who already have very little power in these situations. Those two things together - less funding, and no way to push back - are a bad combination.

As a sibling, I already think a lot about what my sister’s future looks like and what role I will play in it. The NDIS gave our family some stability around that - a plan we could work with. These changes add stress to something that’s already uncertain. If her funding can be cut without warning and she cannot appeal it, that security disappears. And if the community participation supports are halved, that gap doesn’t just vanish, it falls back on family. These aren’t hypotheticals for me. They’re decisions I’m already factoring into my own life.

I’d ask the Committee to recommend that the Bill not go ahead in its current form. At a minimum, I’d like to see the 50% cap on participation funding removed, and section 34A either deleted or rewritten so there’s a proper, independent appeals process before any funding reduction can happen. It is possible to have a scheme that’s both sustainable and fair. This Bill, as it stands, doesn’t manage that.

Submitted by: Name withheld (sibling of an NDIS participant) South Australia I request that my name be kept private. I am happy for the substance of this submission to be published.