National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 2299
There are no words for how devastated I felt when I heard about this Bill and its inclusions. As both paediatric speech language pathologist and a NDIS participant, this Bill has the potential to drastically impact my life across all life areas. I am a diligent tax payer. But with these changes I am seriously concerned if I will be able to work at all. The only reason I am able to work at all is with the current NDIS supports I have (e.g. occupational therapy) that allow me to manage my lifelong permanent condition. The proposed changes mean that I likely will not meet criteria for my supports any longer, despite fighting for over 6 months to receive the supports I require, which are secondary to my lifelong permanent disability.
These changes mean that the children I support, who are mostly autistic individuals classified as “low or moderate supports needs” (which in reality they may have a severe language disorder, which severely restricts their life), will not be able to receive individualised services. Or, they will receive a pared back version of individualised services that will not be effective, as it does NOT meet the intensity recommended in the literature for the intervention to be effective (e.g. at least weekly services for an extended period of time). They will therefore not build their functional capacity. They will not able to make friends, participate in extra-curricular activities, or be a child. They will not be able to contribute to society as a teenager and adult. They will not become tax-payers. Instead, they will be very reliant on their parents or other government systems. This will cost society more money than the services they could have received.
I am also extremely concerned about the changes to the permanence definition in relation to disability. It creates a situation where the NDIA can keep demanding that the applicant keeps trying “available treatments” in an attempt to keep them from accessing the NDIS. Because at what point will this person have tried all available treatments? When will that end? And all this time this person had a permanent, lifelong condition (e.g. autism) that would never have been “cured” or “have their condition substantially relieved” by these available treatments in the first place… It also is discriminatory in regards to economic status, as only wealthier families will have the opportunity to access all these treatments to then possibly prove their child or the participant has a permanent condition… The other, less “well-off” families will be left on extremely long public waitlists and will never be able to reach this far-off permanent definition (despite their child or family member truly meeting this..) There are so many flaws with this Bill that disadvantage families and discriminate in an attempt to save money. It does not reflect NDIS’s original intention.