Submission 2186
29 May 2026
To the Joint Standing Committee
I am a single mother living with permanent physical, neurological and psychosocial disabilities. I have 4 children who also live with physical, neurological, psychosocial and genetic disabilities. They are now 23, 19, 16 and 15. Although the scheme has not been kind to us, without it, I’m not sure I would still be alive. But I feel that is what our government want.
The proposed changes to the NDIS legislation have not been explained properly nor in an accessible way for all to understand. It makes me stop and think about what they’re trying to hide, or what they’re trying to draw attention from. However, from what I can make of the changes they place additional risks to the lives of those like my children and I, who rely on others simply to survive.
The changes scare me. The changes will kill people. The changes will break apart families.
As a disabled person, I can say that we don’t get to live. We simply get to survive. If these changes, we won’t even be able to do that. People will die. Families will be torn apart. In the long term, the changes will cost the government more by:
- Less income via GST
- Less income tax
- Increased scheme legal costs
- Increased Child Support and Centrelink staO being required
- Increased unemployment
- Increased costs to Health
- Increased Child Protection staO required
- Increased Centrelink payments
- Increased Out of Home Care children
We collectively know these costs. Those of us having had the privilege of tertiary education all learn it in some form. So why are the privileged so scared to share resources? From those of us looking up, it’s because they are too scared of real, hard work.
Why is it that the poor people still suJer while the rich continue to hoard resources in contemporary society? Have we not learned better?
In 2021 my 3 younger children’s and my own plan were insuOicient. I went through the review process and ended up at the AAT. This process only came to an end in April 2024, where I successfully got most of the supports that we needed. I can’t imagine how much the lawyer who tortured me cost the taxpayer, but the experience cost me much
Submission 2186
more. It tore me apart internally and I am still waiting for the reimbursement of the transport support that they wrongfully took away and then gave back. But the NDIA said that it was “too much to pay a participant in a lump sum”. Insinuating that I was not responsible with my money despite maintaining a mortgage and upkeep of our home. And that it was not money I had already spent that I couldn’t afford, because disability costs more than a typical person’s life. What is my broken family worth? How much did they pay the lawyers?
This adequate support; it came too late. My family is broken because it didn’t get the support it needed, when it needed it. Now, two of my children have no contact with myself and the 2 living with me. Their disabilities prevent them from seeing that the real perpetrator that caused their distress was our “lucky country” government. Because really, what did the NDIA think was going to happen when a single disabled mother was caring for 4 small disabled children on her own, with no informal support? How many more families is the agency going to tear apart? My heart is broken and will likely never recover.
I have 1 good friend. Why? Because I haven’t even had the time to maintain or establish new friendships. I had 1 night off in 8 years from when my youngest child was 1.5 years to 9.5 years. I didn’t even get school hours because the school system is so poor for disabled children, and just in general in my area that I was forced to home.
Reduction in core for my children and I would mean that life would become impossible. I wouldn’t be able to work or study, and my children would be busy doing all the domestic chores that I can’t and fighting. My house would be a mess, and I would likely have more serious falls ending up in hospital or dead. We would not be able to access much of the community and would need to rely on Centrelink payments and charity handouts to scrape by.
If my capacity building supports were reduced or removed – I would lose mobility and have a fast decline becoming a fulltime wheelchair user. I would then require a wheelchair accessible home, of which mine is not and cannot be modified. My boys would not be able to develop the skills to be active economic participants and also need to rely on Centrelink. Their health will decline without access to all of the extras that cannot be afforded without employment.
I have worked so hard to ensure that my children have employment aspirations unlike my own parents who’ve happily spent decades in government housing and on unemployment and in one foul smelling legislative change – the government will bring it all undone.
Submission 2186
Without supports, one of my children would die. But that’s what the government wants. I suppose.
And permanence - I understand you want to change the definition. To what? We already jump through so many hoops to prove we will never not be disabled in today’s world. Will you change the meaning in the Oxford Dictionary too?
Why take away from those with so little, when you won’t tax the top 1%? Why are individuals and not all citizens benefiting from our country’s resources? Why are our politicians paid so well? And why do they get such great pensions so early on? There is more to this than the government is letting on.