Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs

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

My name is redacted. I am a solo parent and full-time carer for my two autistic children. I also have ADHD and chronic fatigue syndrome myself. I am writing this submission because I am deeply concerned about the impact this Bill will have on disabled children, carers, and families like mine.

Both of my children have Level 2 autism and ADHD with significant support needs. In addition to the challenges associated with autism itself, they experience several well-recognised co-occurring conditions. My 14-year-old daughter has depression, anxiety, Joint Hypermobility Syndrome, and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). My 9-year-old daughter has a PDA profile of autism and experiences severe anxiety, which prevents her from attending school. She is therefore educated at home.

Through the scheme, my eldest daughter has been able to access psychology, occupational therapy, exercise physiology and social groups specifically for neurodivergent children. These supports help her manage her mental health, connect with peers safely, and participate in life in a way that would otherwise not be possible.

My youngest daughter has accessed counselling, play therapy, occupational therapy, social groups for autistic children. Because she cannot attend school, these social groups are one of the only opportunities she has to safely interact with other children. Her counselling sessions are helping her slowly build trust and confidence with another adult outside our family.

One of my greatest concerns about this Bill is the proposed “parental presumption”. I receive the Carer Payment because I am unable to work due to my caring responsibilities. If funding is reduced because the system assumes parents will absorb the costs of needed supports, then my children will simply lose access to those supports entirely. There is no hidden reserve of money, time, energy, or informal support available in families like mine. The reason we receive NDIS supports and Carer Payment is because those resources have already been exhausted. We are already stretched to our limits.

With NDIS funding, I have been able to access parent training and support relevant to my daughter’s disabilities. Parenting children with significant disabilities and mental health challenges requires specialised knowledge and support. These are not ordinary parenting demands.

While some non-disabled children may occasionally access these services, children without disabilities do not generally require ongoing occupational therapy, specialised social supports, counselling, and psychology services simply to access education, build relationships, and participate in community life. These supports do not eliminate my children’s disabilities, but they do help reduce barriers and support participation that would otherwise be even more limited. These are disability supports, not ordinary parenting tasks.

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

Submission 2288

I am also concerned about the provisions allowing automated decision-making. My children’s needs are complex and nuanced. Autism, ADHD, anxiety, chronic illness, trauma, sensory needs, schooling difficulties and mental health concerns do not fit neatly into simple categories or checkboxes.

A computer program cannot truly understand the lived reality of disabled children and carers. It cannot assess the subtle ways supports interact to keep a child stable and functioning. It cannot understand how removing one support can trigger worsening mental health, social isolation, burnout, family breakdown, or long-term harm.

I fear that automated systems will prioritise cost-cutting over human wellbeing, and that families will be reduced to data points rather than listened to as human beings.

Without the NDIS, I would not be able to afford the supports that my family needs and my children would lose access to safe social connection, therapy, counselling and emotional support. The impact of losing these supports would be significant for my family. The health and wellbeing of my children would suffer, and our isolation would increase. I would lose the guidance and support that helps me care for them effectively. As a sole parent already managing significant caring responsibilities, I do not know how families like mine are expected to absorb more pressure without serious consequences.

The NDIS exists because disabled people deserve the same opportunity for safety, participation, dignity and quality of life as everyone else. The answer to rising costs cannot be removing support from vulnerable people and their families.

I ask the Senate Committee to reject this Bill in its current form. Any reform of the NDIS should strengthen the scheme’s ability to support disabled people and their families, not shift greater responsibility and risk onto those already carrying the greatest burden.

At minimum, I urge the Committee to:

• Remove the parental presumption provisions.
• Remove or significantly limit automated decision-making powers.
• Ensure all NDIS decisions involving children and complex disabilities involve meaningful and informed human assessment.
• Protect access to disability-related therapies, counselling and social supports for children.
• Ensure that carers and families are properly consulted before major structural changes are made to the scheme.

Disabled people and carers deserve policies built on dignity, humanity and real understanding of lived experience. I ask the Committee to listen carefully to the voices of families who rely on these supports every day.

Thank you for considering my submission.

Submission 2288

Kind regards,