National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1970 - Supplementary Submission
Committee Secretary Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600
Senate Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment
(Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Senators
I make this submission on behalf of my 29-year-old daughter. My daughter has Down syndrome with consequent intellectual disability and other direct impacts to health and wellbeing. We live in the Northern Territory (NT) and she has been a participant on the NDIS since November 2019. Her disability is permanent; there is no cure nor any treatment that can alleviate Down syndrome.
Part 5 to the Explanatory Memorandum of the proposed Bill deals with plan renewals and, amongst various aspects targets the administrative expedient of rolling over a participant’s plan, including the roll over of any unspent funds, specifically:
‘Proposed new section 50A will create new statements of participant supports by operation of law (that is, it does not involve a decision of the CEO). New plans created through the plan renewal mechanism would replicate, with some modifications, the reasonable and necessary supports that were contained and in place at the end of the previous plan, with funding aligned to the period of the new plan. This would prevent unspent funds rolling over from the old plan but ensure that reasonable and necessary supports are maintained.’
On the surface this legislative action to remove an administrative expedient appears, at first glance, reasonable; however, it does not and indeed prevents any consideration as to why funds may be unspent.
My daughter is a self-managed participant with myself and my wife, her mother, her Nominees. The NDIS Portal does not allow for the costs of any services or supports to be claimed in advance of the provision of those services and supports – also reasonable.
The issue then arises that at the date of a Plan end, and for my daughter that will be 1 October 2026, there will be payments outstanding for supports and services that have been delivered, at least for the 4-6 weeks immediately preceding plan end because the provider is yet to invoice for those payments. Indeed, as of 3 October 2025 the NDIA allows for providers to invoice for services and supports up to two years after the provision of same.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 1970 - Supplementary Submission
My question for the Inquiry is how will these claims be paid and from which funding ‘bucket’ will the funds be taken to pay the claim?
There is no explicit allowance for these circumstances in the proposed legislation nor is this reality covered in the explanation, indeed it fails to deal with the real operation of the NDIS Portal and claim processes and management in any way.
I urge you to recommend that this Bill not proceed in its current form, while there are a number of concerns, the legislative changes under s50 are of significant concern as they fail to consider the actuality of plan operation, and require substantial review. This review must include people with disability in broad consultation and in specific co-design of the detail to ensure equity and fairness to those that it will impact.
Primary legislation such as this should provide a shield against an unknown future, protecting the most vulnerable in our community, this legislation as proposed does the opposite
Thank you for your time.
Parent