Submission 1995
To the Senate Committee,
I am writing as a parent of neurodivergent children, including children diagnosed with autism and ADHD, to express my deep concern regarding the proposed changes and cuts to the NDIS.
For families like mine, the NDIS is not a luxury. It is not “extra.” It is the difference between participation and isolation, regulation and crisis, safety and burnout.
My children’s disabilities are lifelong and pervasive, even when they are not immediately visible to others. Autism affects every aspect of daily functioning, emotional regulation, communication, sensory processing, social participation, education, anxiety, and the ability to navigate a world that is not designed for neurodivergent people. ADHD and developmental challenges further compound this.
The NDIS currently provides critical supports that allow my children to participate in the community, engage in learning, develop independence, and access therapies that improve their quality of life and long-term outcomes. These supports also sustain our family unit and reduce crisis escalation.
Without these supports, the burden does not disappear. It simply shifts onto families already operating beyond capacity.
One of the most difficult aspects of parenting autistic children is that the work is constant and often invisible. Families become therapists, advocates, case managers, behaviour supports, educators, emotional regulators, and crisis responders, all while trying to maintain employment, financial stability, mental health, and care for other children in the family.
The proposed changes feel deeply disconnected from the reality of disability and caregiving.
I am particularly concerned about the proposed changes to the definition of “permanence.”
Submission 1995
Families should not have to prove they are exhausted, financially ruined, or in crisis before receiving support.
Capacity building supports are among the most important supports my children receive. These supports are preventative. They reduce future dependency and improve long-term outcomes. They help children learn emotional regulation, communication skills, independence, and social participation.
If capacity building supports are reduced or removed, the likely outcome is not reduced need, it is increased crisis.
Without appropriate supports:
- school refusal increases,
- mental health deteriorates,
- family breakdown becomes more likely,
- carers experience burnout,
- children become more isolated,
- and more families ultimately require higher-cost crisis interventions later.
Reducing supports now does not eliminate costs. It simply delays and transfers them into health systems, mental health systems, education systems, child protection systems, and emergency services.
Social and community supports are also essential. Autistic children are already at significantly higher risk of social isolation, bullying, anxiety, depression, and exclusion. Community access supports are not recreational extras, they are often the only accessible pathway to participation and connection.
My children deserve the opportunity to participate in society safely and meaningfully, just like any other child.
I also want to highlight the emotional toll on parents and carers. Families of disabled children already spend enormous amounts of time fighting systems, attending appointments, advocating at schools, coordinating supports, managing meltdowns, responding to anxiety, and navigating inaccessible environments. The uncertainty and fear surrounding these proposed changes has caused significant distress within the disability community.
Many of us already feel like we are constantly having to justify our children’s existence, needs, and worthiness of support.
Submission 1995
These proposed changes risk creating an even more adversarial system where families must repeatedly prove disability, justify supports, and fight for basic assistance despite lifelong diagnoses.
I ask the Senate Committee to genuinely listen to disabled people, parents, carers, therapists, educators, and the broader disability community before proceeding with changes that may have devastating long-term consequences.
The NDIS should be strengthened, made more accessible, and improved where needed, not narrowed in ways that place vulnerable children and families at greater risk.
Disabled children deserve support before crisis, not after it.
Thank you for considering my submission.
– Mum to - 12 years old - ADHD and Autism level 2 – Mum to - 8 years old - ADHD and Autism level 2 – Mum to - 8 years old - ADHD – Mum to - 14 years old - Sibling to 3 neurodivergent siblings