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

Submission 2060

Hi there,

Please accept this email as my submission regarding the proposed NDIS legislative changes.

I am writing as a family member, carer and sole trading provider working within the NDIS space.

I do agree that the NDIS needs change. I see every day how hard the system is to navigate for participants, families, carers and providers. However, I am very concerned about legislation being rushed through first, with the important details then left to future rules, policies and operational decisions.

This places already vulnerable people at a significant disadvantage.

My concern relates to the parts of the Bill that may reduce access to occupational therapy, capacity building supports, social and community participation, plan reassessments, eligibility, and future funding across groups of supports.

In my experience, occupational therapy, capacity building and community participation supports are not optional extras. These supports help people remain safe, build skills, maintain independence, access the community, reduce isolation, and provide the evidence needed for fair NDIS decisions.

I am also concerned that many of the proposed changes already appear to be filtering through current plan reviews and reassessments. I am seeing participants already experiencing reduced funding, reduced access to supports, and greater difficulty having their needs properly understood.

When funding is reduced, the support need does not disappear. The risk is often shifted onto families, carers, informal supports and providers.

Families are being left to juggle work commitments, caring responsibilities, appointments, school routines, daily personal care needs and their own wellbeing. For families already providing a high level of unpaid informal support, further reductions create real risk of carer burnout, financial pressure, reduced work hours and increased stress within the home.

I am particularly concerned for participants who receive Supported Independent Living or as NDIS know it Home and Living supports. If community participation funding is reduced, but Home and Living funding is not increased to safely meet the person’s needs, this does not create a saving in real life. It creates a gap in support. It can also place daily living, personal care and community access at risk.

As a provider, this space is already exhausting. As someone who also understands the reality of having a loved one connected with the NDIS, the work-life balance is extremely difficult. Many families are already stretched and already providing informal supports at a high level.

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

Submission 2060

There is now added fear that people, including people with ASD and other functional support needs, may be pushed off the Scheme or have supports reduced to a point where families have no choice but to reduce work hours further to provide care themselves.

There is already heightened anxiety across the NDIS space. Participants, families, carers and providers are worried about what these changes will mean in real life. Rushed legislation without clear safeguards will only exacerbate this anxiety and place further pressure on people who are already doing their best to hold everything together.

I ask Parliament to understand that these changes are not just administrative. They have real impacts on people’s homes, family life, work, safety, mental health and ability to remain connected to their community.

I ask Parliament to slow this process down and ensure any changes are properly co- designed with people with disability, families, carers, allied health professionals and providers who understand what happens on the ground.

I ask that the Bill be changed to ensure there are no blanket or group-based reductions to occupational therapy, capacity building supports or social and community participation supports without proper individual assessment.

I also ask that participants continue to have access to plan reassessments when there is a significant change in circumstances, functional capacity, informal supports, risk, equipment needs or daily support needs.

I support reform where it is needed, but I do not support rushed legislation that leaves vulnerable people, families and carers carrying the risk of unclear future rules and reduced supports.

I also encourage the Committee to consider Occupational Therapy Australia’s recommendations and express my support for the No OTs, No NDIS campaign.

The NDIS must be sustainable, but it must also remain fair, safe, person-centred and based on individual need.

Warm regards,