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

Submission 2176

Submission to The National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS

for Future Generations) Bill 2026

My daughter has always had a different experience of the world, but her differences suddenly became glaringly apparent when she began Prep. It was only through my initiative in booking her in with a developmental paediatrician 15 months earlier that we were able to secure her assessment for autism, where she was diagnosed a year later. All paid privately by us, because we were able to find the money. While trying to figure out how to apply for NDIS funding, I researched, got on a waiting list for, and finally secured a place with an OT at $235 out of pocket each fortnight, while paying a mortgage and raising two other children with (ineligible for NDIS) medical needs. A week after we had to give up our OT place because we could no longer afford it, our NDIS funding came through. I am now working to secure places for speech therapy and OT, before we risk being booted off the scheme onto God knows what program (as the government has not apparently figured this out). These early interventions where we can choose the right therapists for our child have already made a big difference to my daughter’s ability to recognise her body/emotional cues and start to navigate communication differences, and I have no idea if any of this will be ripped away because my daughter may suddenly be deemed “not autistic enough” to deserve this support. And what about when she begins puberty, where symptoms and differences can again hit a spike along with their therapy needs? Where will we turn then?

I do seriously question the timing and nature of these changes that indicate children like mine may completely lose their current supports, to be popped into what exactly? Group therapies? School-based supports, where resources are already at breaking point, and my child has been on a waitlist for speech therapy for nearly two years? Generic parenting courses? The government hasn’t figured it out yet. Please, please, listen to disability advocacy groups. Listen to families about what they value in the current scheme and how you can best continue to support them, truly, before rushing through ill-planned changes. It’s akin to pushing people off a support cliff while saying, “we’ll figure out some sort of cushion before you land, promise!”