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

Submission 2251

I am writing as an autistic person living in Queensland. I am submitting this to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs in response to the NDIS Amendment (Securing the NDIS) Bill 2026.

I am writing about Schedule 1 Part 8 of the Bill, which requires that a person demonstrate they have completed all “appropriate treatment” in order to remain eligible for the NDIS. The Bill allows treatment to be considered “appropriate” even if a person cannot afford it or access it where they live.

As an autistic person I struggled immensely for the first 37 years of my life without ever knowing I was different from my peers. I struggled to keep a job, I struggled to maintain relationships, I struggled to feed myself and pay my bills, to understand my emotions and make healthy choices for myself.

with my autism diagnosis on my 37th birthday came an understanding of myself that had been missing, an explanation for why I didn’t seem able to handle everything that other people seemed so capable of, but I still struggled.

I was in therapy, but therapy is expensive, even with Medicare rebates. I couldn’t afford more than one session a month.

Accessing the NDIS changed everything for me. I receive enough funding to see my psychologist and an occupational therapist once a fortnight, and while these supports have been pivotal in allowing me to live a more independent life without relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms, this doesn’t meet all of my support needs.

I did undertake a functional capacity assessment and submitted it to the NDIS in order to have the recommended supports funded, however the NDIS says that none of the recommended supports represent “value for money” and they have denied the request.

I am deeply concerned about the proposed changes to the NDIS. The discourse is around pushing people with autism out of the NDIS and into the thriving kids program, but there is a very clear pattern whenever autism is discussed that shows a complete unwillingness or inability to acknowledge that autistic children grow into autistic adults. Autism doesn’t go away when we turn 18, in fact the symptoms of autism get worse as we age, and autistic adults need support too, often more than we did as children.

Autism is a lifelong neurological condition. There is no evidence-based treatment that will reverse, cure or materially remove autism. Therapies such as speech pathology, occupational

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

Submission 2251

treatment and psychology support autistic people to build skills and manage daily life, but they do not and cannot eliminate the underlying condition.

Analysis by Disability Support Consultants of the NDIA’s own consultation documents confirms the Agency has already pre-determined that most autistic people will receive mid-range funding, regardless of individual need. This ‘appropriate treatment’ rule adds a further barrier on top of a system that is already rationing support.

I ask the Committee to amend the Bill so that treatment only counts as ‘appropriate’ if it is genuinely accessible to that person given their location, finances and medical circumstances. I also ask the Committee to explicitly confirm in the legislation that autism is a permanent, lifelong neurological condition for which no curative treatment exists.

Yours sincerely