Submission 2099
Ways to Improve the NDIS Without Cutting Disabled People Off Support
1. Stop spending millions fighting disabled people in court
The government spends enormous amounts of money hiring elite law firms to oppose people trying to access the NDIS or receive necessary supports.
In many cases, the legal costs exceed the value of the supports being disputed. Often the government loses these cases anyway — but only after causing participants significant stress, delays, and harm.
Reducing unnecessary legal battles would save money immediately while improving trust in the system.
2. Improve staff training and disability-specific expertise
Local Area Coordinators reportedly receive only a short period of training before managing highly complex cases.
Planners and LACs are expected to understand every disability, every support system, and every participant circumstance. This is unrealistic.
Poor understanding of specific disabilities regularly results in:
- inaccurate plans,
- inappropriate funding decisions,
- misinformation,
- unnecessary reassessments, and
- avoidable reviews at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
A better approach would include:
- specialist teams for different disability types,
- longer and higher-quality training,
- ongoing professional development, and
- consultation with people who have lived experience.
Better decisions upfront would reduce costly appeals later.
3. Reduce reliance on expensive private consultants
The NDIA increasingly relies on private consultants while simultaneously claiming cost pressures.
Participants deserve transparency about:
Submission 2099
what consultants are being hired for, how much they are being paid, what outcomes they are delivering, and whether those functions could be performed more cheaply by permanent public staff.
Building internal expertise is likely to be more cost-effective and accountable than outsourcing large amounts of work to private consulting firms.
- End staffing caps and hiring freezes
Artificial staffing caps create backlogs and increase costs.
Existing employees are forced into excessive overtime just to keep up with demand. Overtime costs more than employing adequate permanent staff.
Overworked employees are also more likely to make mistakes, leading to:
- incorrect plans,
- participant distress,
- increased complaints, and
- more ART reviews.
When experienced workers leave due to burnout and cannot be replaced because of hiring freezes, the system becomes even less efficient.
Proper staffing is an investment that reduces waste long-term.
- Reform provider registration instead of driving providers away
If the government wants more providers to become registered, the current registration system needs reform.
Provider registration can reportedly cost tens of thousands of dollars once mandatory auditing expenses are included. This is unaffordable for many sole traders and small providers, especially those:
- working part-time,
- supporting only a few participants, or
- operating in rural and regional areas.
As a result, participants can struggle to find supports.
Instead of creating barriers, the government should:
Submission 2099
- reduce registration costs,
- provide free or subsidised training and upskilling,
- focus on participant outcomes rather than paperwork, and
- improve oversight based on service quality rather than bureaucracy alone.
Registration itself does not guarantee quality.
Participants are often encouraged to trust providers simply because they are “registered,†but registration alone is not proof of safe or quality support.
- Stop forcing people to repeatedly prove permanent disabilities
Many participants are required to obtain endless reports and reassessments despite already proving that their disabilities are permanent.
This process:
- wastes participant funding,
- creates unnecessary stress,
- increases pressure on health professionals,
- delays supports, and
- adds administrative costs.
In many cases, reports appear to be barely reviewed because staff are already overwhelmed.
Permanent disabilities do not disappear. The system should stop treating disabled people as though they must constantly re-prove their existence.
- Meaningfully consult the people who actually use the system
If the government genuinely wants to improve the NDIS and reduce waste, it must properly consult participants, families, carers, and frontline workers.
Many disabled people understand the system deeply and can identify practical ways to:
- improve efficiency,
- reduce waste,
- prevent exploitation, and
- maintain quality supports.
Submission 2099