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

Submission 2187

To The Senate Inquiry into the NDIS 2026 Bill

Date 27 May 2026

I am a NDIS participant. I live with a severe physical impairment that limits my ability to perform tasks of daily living without assistance. I have been a participant since 2018.

The support I receive has enabled me to stay in my own wheelchair accessible home, with the ability to live independently. Because of the NDIS support, I receive I have been able to live an ordinary life, participate as a member of my community and contribute to it actively.

I support measures to keep the NDIS sustainable. I have been horrified by the fraud that service providers have committed and the price gouging that has enabled NDIS service providers to inflate prices. However, it is not fair or equitable to cut participant plans through capping classes of supports, regardless of the cost of the class of support. Participants suffer unfairly; providers will find a way around it.

I am referring to Section 34A’ Determination reducing funding for groups of supports’. This is a one size fits all approach, which usually does not end up saving money and often has a slew of unintended consequences that can undermine everything that the government wants to achieve.(NB I note that the Commonwealth Government today acknowledged the failure of a one-size-all-approach to job seeker support).

All classes of support are covered by section 34A. This means that cuts to supports could leave participants unable to: get out of/ go to bed, shower, eat, get out of the house, go to work, access necessary therapy supports consumables or equipment. Apart from the obvious impacts on individuals, this approach will not save money in the long-run to the budget because less support leads to further deterioration and further cost and a greater use of Commonwealth services within and outside the NDIS.

An example: Australia’s employment participation rate has finally increased to 60.5 percent after thirty years or more of hovering around 53 percent (ABS Survey on Disability, Ageing and Carers-summary of findings 2024). The restriction of supports will result in some people with disability who are working being forced to give up work if the funding for supports or equipment they need is no longer available.

The Bill should increase accountability measures for providers to further reduce fraud and price gouging, which is the real cause of financial sustainability problems.