Submission 1944

Submission to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDS for Future Generations) Bill 2026

Attention: Committee Secretary, Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs

Submitted by email: community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au

Date: 27th May 2026

Submitted by:

I welcome the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs about the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.

I am a parent, unpaid carer, Guardian and Administrator with WA SAT, and NDIS Nominee of two adult participants with disability aged 30 and almost 27.

I want to outline the harm this Amendment Bill will cause our 2 adult sons and our family if it passes Parliament. This Bill is too far-reaching to pass as it stands. I believe the Bill requires further scrutiny and amendment before it proceeds. I believe there are also ramifications I can not even foresee that will negatively affect our sons and our family.

Unreviewable ministerial power to cut funding across all support categories and Existing participants face narrower criteria and fewer rights to challenge decisions.

Our sons have both had NDIS plan reviews in April this year – their Social and Community participation funding has already been reduced from their previous plans. One of our fears is that their Social and

Submission 1944

Community participation funding will AGAIN be reduced by 50% as has been announced by Minister Butler – for our sons this will mean they have funding for around 5 hours a WEEK to do anything in the community – it’s going to be a seriously sad, depressing, isolated life that they live from then on. They will have to reduce or STOP completely many of the amazing and positively impactful opportunities they currently participate in and spend money at - the work and volunteer positions they hold – brochure delivery, micorenterprise/hobby, Pinjarra Redz Zoo, Salvation Army, Give Write; the activities they love for example Laughter Club, Dance Club and Dance Party, Art and Craft, surfing, fishing; activities that maintain their fitness and wellbeing such as Gym/Swim Spa, Cycling, Beach, recycling ……. amongst many other activities they do in the community. And not only will they have to stay at home more, thiis will be in a small house environment sharing with others with disability since the review ignored allied health professional assessments and reports stating that they both need 1:1 supports. Their valued contribution to society will be significantly limited. In addition, Minister Butler also announced an across the board cut of 10% to all therapy supports – so even less support to MAINTAIN their functioning and independence, let alone aiming to improve them. We can 100% anticiapte due to those changes our sons will have increases in dysregulation which will actually require higher levels of supports even in the home environment.

None of these changes will be able to be appealed/reviewed at any level…….. this really is inhumane and unethical – arbitrary cuts without looking at allied health professional reports, without considering individual support needs, and for many the funding they currently have is already inappropriate and/or inadequate to keep them safe and to support them to maintain their current level of functioning, and

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participate in society.

The person/people/tool making the final funding support calculation will

NEVER meet our sons or our family and actually see their support needs

first hand, AND see the negative effects of the cuts to their funding. Our

sons and us as their loving parents will have to carry the negative

outcomes of those cuts.

Another negative ramification of these cuts is that our wonderful team of

support workers and therapists will have their hours reduced – ie they

get less income, pay less taxes, spend less in the economy …….. and more will be unemployed or underemployed and need more support from the Government/taxpayers! Many will need to reassess their employment/career for the future – the disability sector will lose experienced and fabulous support workers and allied health professionals.

2. Unvalidated functional capacity assessment tool risks misidentifying need.

We are very concerned about this assessment tool – that it is a check- The box tool administered by someone who is not an expert in administering the tool and/or a health professional who understands the Disability and functional capacity (this was highly recommended by the developers and health professionals and disability advocates) that then spits out some kind of report which will then be administered into an algorithm to give a funding $ allocation in NDIS report. From what has been announced, this assessment process will be ONE “assessor” attempting the person’s home ONCE for a few hours, having a conversation and then leaving…there are way too many components of this tool to complete it thoroughly in a matter of a few hours so it will be the “assessor” filling it in after they leave, with their own bias, memory

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and perhaps even KPIs influencing the outcome …….…. No allied health professional reports will be reviewed, the person with disability or their nominee will not see answers to the questions in the tool to make additions/corrections, no assessment across different times and places, too bad if it’s a “good” or “bad” day.

Is this tool even a valid assessment tool? - if 3 people administer the same tool with the one person with disability, on different days/times and in different environments, do they get very similar results - I doubt it will be validated from that point of view alone!

And has the tool been used to calculate funding yet, and is that funding what is NEEDED to support that person to be safe and function well in their life?? I doubt that has even been trialled.

Reducing a person to single eligible impairment (Schedule 1 Part 3) and eligibility thresholds in Parts 8 and 9 are also very concerning - our sons have multiple disabilities that affect their functionality and need for support.

3. Parliamentary Scrutiny and Transparency There is very little detail in the amendments, they are broad sweeping and it’s stressful anticipating the possible ramifications of the amendments. There has been very poor consultation with the community for these changes and very very short timeline for the inquiry.

4. Key decisions left to ministerial instruments, not law Wow, this really feels like the control is in the hands of the Minister in control of the NDIS – that changes could/will be made to people’s NDIS plans or even eligibility to receive NDIS funding support due to changes made by the Minister without the usual public consultation, parliamentary scrutiny, debate that happens.

5. The amendments and likely reductions to our sons’ NDIS funding will mean my husband and I will continue to have a high level of carer

• impact, practical and likely stress and distress.

We are well into our 60s

and our family has ZERO informal supports locally – without appropriate

NDIS funding, our two adult sons will continue to rely heavily on us to

support them, until we are no longer capable or are dead! And then their

situation may well get WORSE as no one will care as much as we do –

or advocate for them as much as we do!