Submission to the Senate regarding the proposed NDIS Bill

28th May 2026

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

To the Senate Committee, I write this submission in my capacity as an Occupational Therapist working with Australians living with complex disabilities across community settings. Through my clinical role, I regularly support participants and families experiencing significant functional impairment, vulnerability, psychosocial stress, behavioural complexity, environmental barriers, and carer burnout.

I acknowledge the importance of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the NDIS. However, I hold significant concerns that several proposed amendments within the Bill risk unintentionally disadvantaging vulnerable Australians living with disability and may create increased long-term human, social, and economic costs. In my clinical experience, disability cannot be understood outside of the real-world context in which people live. Functional capacity is not determined solely by what a person can demonstrate during isolated assessment tasks. Many participants function only because extensive supports, routines, environmental modifications, behavioral co-regulation, assistive technology, and informal care arrangements are already in place.

I am particularly concerned by the proposed redefinition of functional capacity, which appears inconsistent with the World Health Organisation International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Occupational Therapy practice is grounded in the understanding that function occurs through the interaction between body functions and structures, activities, participation, environmental supports, and personal circumstances. Removing these factors from consideration risks creating an artificial and inaccurate picture of disability. This may disproportionately disadvantage individuals with:

• Autism spectrum disorder;
• Intellectual disability;
• Psychosocial disability;
• Acquired brain injury;

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

Submission 2114

• Degenerative neurological conditions;
• Executive dysfunction; and
• Fluctuating or invisible disabilities. I am also deeply concerned regarding increased reliance on standardized assessments and the potential for these assessments to be conducted by individuals without appropriate tertiary qualifications, neglected clinical training, or professional scope of practice in functional assessment. Functional capacity assessment requires advanced clinical reasoning and cannot be reduced to checklist-style observations completed outside the context of a participant’s daily life and support environment. Further concern exists regarding proposed changes to permanence and “appropriate treatment” requirements. Many lifelong disabilities require ongoing therapy, rehabilitation, behavioural intervention, psychology, medication, or allied health support to maintain function, reduce decline, or preserve safety and participation. Ongoing treatment should not be interpreted as evidence that disability is temporary.I particularly concerning that this bill appears allow treatments considered“appropriate even where they are realistically accessible due financial disadvantage rural regional workforce shortages long waitlists geographic isolation lack specialist availability This risks creating inequitable access pathways participants may denied based theoretical rather than realistic accessibility.Additionally hold concerns increasing informal supports reframing highly complex care ordinary parenting family responsibility In many families already providing unsustainable levels supervision emotional co-regulation manual handling overnight care safe monitoring far beyond what would ordinarily expected Reducing formal does not reduce need instead it transferring burden onto families operating capacity likelihood carer burnout mental deterioration hospitalisation housing instability safeguarding crisis-driven As clinician concerned amendments risk shifting Scheme away from person-centred whole-of-person principles toward increasingly narrow standardised administratively driven decision-making frameworks fail adequately recognise complexity of disability lived experience I respectfully urge Senate Committee reconsider following:
• Narrow interpretation functional capacity;

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

Submission 2114

• Reduce recognition of environmental and contextual factors;
• Overemphasis standardized assessment processes;
• Restrict recognition of permanence;
• Increase reliance on informal supports;
• Reduce individualized funding approaches;and
• Move away from holistic,multidisciplinary assessment principles. The NDIS was established to support participation,safety,dignity,inclusion,and independenceforAustralianslivingwithdisability.Itiscriticalthatfuturereformspreservetheseprinciplesandremanngroundedinevidence-based,person-centered ,andclinicallyinformedpractice.Thankyouforthetopportunitytoprovidethissubmission.Kindregards,KaterinaCook