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

Submission 2244

To the Community Affairs Legislation Committee, senators and other parliamentary members,

This Bill must not be passed unless significant changes are made. Specifically, the proposed cuts to community participation, capacity building supports, and eligibility restrictions must be removed. Cutting up to 50% of these supports is unacceptable and will cause devastating long-term consequences for people with disability, carers, children, families, and already overwhelmed community systems.

My name is . I am a single mother to two children on the NDIS, and I am also an NDIS participant myself. Both of my children have significant disabilities and trauma histories, and our family has already experienced ongoing under-support through the NDIS system despite extensive evidence, professional recommendations, and continual advocacy. We have spent years fighting for basic supports that should never have been this difficult to access. The current system is already failing many families due to delays, lack of qualified decision-makers, excessive bureaucracy, and funding that does not reflect actual needs. These proposed cuts will make an already broken situation significantly worse.

The supports targeted by this Bill are not luxuries. They are essential protective factors that keep disabled people safe, connected, regulated, functioning, and alive. Capacity building and community participation supports reduce isolation, reduce carer burnout, increase independence, support child development, and help prevent crisis situations. Removing or heavily reducing these supports will create massive knock-on effects across multiple systems, including hospitals, mental health services, child protection, education, homelessness services, and domestic violence services.

As someone with professional experience in community services, youth work, education support, and families in crisis, I know firsthand that when vulnerable people do not receive adequate support, abuse, neglect, mental health decline, family breakdown, and crisis presentations increase. This is not opinion — it is consistently reflected in statistics, research, and frontline practice experience. Queensland systems are already severely under-resourced and overwhelmed. Hospitals, child protection, disability services, and mental health systems are struggling now. Cutting supports will not save money long-term; it will simply shift the cost elsewhere while causing immense human harm.

I am deeply concerned about the impact these changes will have on carers. Many carers are already operating in chronic burnout due to inadequate support. I personally experience this daily. Further reductions in funding and services will directly worsen mental health outcomes for carers and participants alike. Families cannot continue absorbing the failures of underfunded systems without serious consequences.

I am also extremely concerned about the message these cuts send to disabled Australians — that their lives, wellbeing, safety, and participation matter less than budget priorities. Governments should not balance budgets on the backs of

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

Submission 2244

Disabled people and children while large corporations and the wealthiest Australians continue receiving financial advantages and tax concessions. If funding reform is needed, there are fairer and more ethical ways to achieve it than targeting some of the most vulnerable members of the community.

There have already been tragic examples across Australia where inadequate disability support has contributed to serious harm and deaths. Reducing supports further will increase risk. The government must acknowledge that these decisions have real-world consequences for real people.

I strongly urge the Committee to reject this Bill unless these harmful cuts are removed and meaningful consultation occurs with disabled people, carers, qualified professionals, and the broader disability community. Disabled Australians deserve proper support, dignity, safety, and genuine inclusion — not further barriers and cuts to essential services.

This Bill must not be passed unless these changes are made.