NDIA Accountability Project

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NDIS participant concerned about impact of proposed changes (Participant experience)

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

Submission 2300

Summary of points:

  • The flexibility of the NDIS is what makes it work. Inflexibility leads to inefficiency.
  • Accessing NDIS is already too hard. It should be easier, not harder.
  • The changes proposed will cut extensively justified, reasonable and necessary supports.
  • These decisions should not be made privately by the NDIS; they should go through the democratic process.
  • Reducing the power of tribunals to determine outcomes is not just.
  • Putting more work on carers and families will hurt vulnerable people.
  • Reducing community access funding curtails our human rights.
  • Assessment should be holistic and consider environment and circumstances.
  • The changes to plan reviews are not fit for purpose.
  • This deals with a very vulnerable population and needs to be done more slowly with real codesign.
  • I ask for the bill to be withdrawn.

To whom it may concern, I am an NDIS participant and I am extremely worried about the impact of the changes proposed by this bill. Without the NDIS, I would not have been able to: - Graduate highschool - Learn to cook and grocery shop - Learn how to clean and do laundry - Move out of my parents’ home - Attend university to study Mathematics - Have a job - Book appointments to see doctors, dentists, therapies - Plan for the future - Volunteer in my community - Get my drivers license and get a car - Become independent from my parents, to the point where if they died I would not be at risk of homelessness or inpatient care All of these things would not have happened without the NDIS. If I didn’t have the flexible choice-driven NDIS, I would have cost the government much more money over my lifetime. Supporting children to do these things normally are part of a parent’s job, but it’s much harder and resource intensive when your child has a disability. My parents did try to teach me, but because I have higher needs than my siblings, they did not have the resources to support me as needed. If I didn’t have NDIS either i would have been neglected o rmy siblings w ould h ave b een n eglected.I am now twenty years old.If t he ND IS was rigid an d inflexible ,I wo uld ba e tw enty y ears ol dand still living with m y pa rentsin regional NSW .Iwo u ld no thaveajob.Iw ou ldn otbeiuniversityor TAFE.Wou ld spend mostofm yt imeh id ing imyr om,becausethe worldwas too scary.Because Ihav enDSIS,Icouldmoveoutwithoutneedingmyparentstovisitmeeverysingleday.Withouts teN DIS,iwouldbepoletlyupinsomekindoffpublichealthsystem,costingthegovernmentmany thousandsodollarsmorethanmysNDISP lan costs.

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill

Submission: Submission_2300

I am very grateful to have the NDIS. It’s already been an absolute nightmare trying to access any kind of NDIS support, even though my friends with similar disabilities don’t seem able to do it either.I’m scared that this might happen soon as well. The cost savings from these cuts would be minuscule compared to what we’re losing out here.The bill proposes massive reductions which means things like reasonable necessary supports could get cut off completely.This is going against everything I believe in about fairness.It makes no sense why they’d want us to justify every single thing but then let someone else decide how much funding there’ll actually end up being without even consulting anyone who uses services directly.Democratic input should absolutely play a role when making decisions for disabled individuals.We deserve better than just having computers make all our choices instead! One friend had gone through tribunal before - it wasn’t easy getting them there! Reducing power over tribunals isn’t fair at ALL and neither are appeals processes where people can’t appeal their own case or have important decisions made behind closed doors by machines rather than actual human beings. Disabled adults need freedom too, not just non-disabled ones; parents shouldn’t feel forced into caring roles beyond capacity because of lackluster care provided elsewhere within society.Any reliance on family carers has killed many more already & will continue doing so if nothing changes.Families struggling financially due to gaps left unfilled by NDIS aren’t the solution.They don’t deserve any extra burden placed upon them either way.Relying solely on unpaid labour from invisible women with disabilities won’t solve anything. Reducing access doesn’t help reduce costs anyway.I thought we were aware that locking away those most vulnerable was bad? Effectively keeping people locked inside their homes is equally as harmful.Participation in community life IS fundamental to everyone’s rights regardless whether they’re able-bodied or otherwise.Disabled folks often face homelessness, human trafficking situations amongst other forms of abuse which makes matters worse still.The bill fails entirely when considering:

  • The potential increased effectiveness for higher cost supports being ignored completely;
  • Stricter recordkeeping procedures making things even harder for self-managed participants who struggle enough without added complications; -Taking off NDIS support unless someone responds quickly despite having no means whatsoever (homeless individuals included); -Including comorbidities isn’t considered at all while assessing needs and capacities leading directly towards further discrimination against disabled persons. These issues disproportionately affect our country’s weakest members, not just because of age but also socioeconomic status among others.We need better policies rather than ones designed specifically around punishing us instead of helping out where needed! The proposed changes regarding assessments are terrible too! Making people try every single possible option before allowing onto the system if it exists within reach would be unfair especially since many don’t have access due to geographical location constraints OR financial barriers imposed by the very same services meant to assist them.

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

Submission 2300

many people who desperately need support for their disabilities. It is ALREADY incredibly difficult to get onto the NDIS, and this bill proposed to make it even more so. Also, these assessments might not take dynamic disability and fluctuating capacity into account. Just because someone can do something for one day doesn’t mean they can do it every day forever. Especially carer tasks– caring for someone for one day is VERY DIFFERENT to doing it forever. Reducing how much we think about a person’s environment is also extremely worrying –people’s needs will be different depending on their circumstances.The social model of disability is very well established indisability rights literature nowandit istveryworryingthatistnotbeingtakenintoaccount. Another thing that iseextremelypoorlythoughtoutaboutthibillise reducedprovisionsforplan review/reassessment.Inthefiveyears since myNDIS plan was created,mysituati ons has never changed suddenly unexpectedly.However overa long periodof time ithaschanged alot! Myneedsandsituationareverydifferentnow.Underthenewproposed rules I would no abletogetaplanrevieweven thoughmyneeds are ver ydifferentno w an d m ypl annight longerbesuitable.TherearesomanyotherthingsIcouldmentionbutthosearethethingsifeelqualifiedtotalkabou tfrommylivedexperience.Thisbilliex tremelyconcern ingformeandyour community,andonotappreciate thatwearebein gusedasa political scapegoat.Whoever reads this,I ask: please do not letthis bill pass.Itpromisesnewsystemswith out anyway forus toknow iftheywill besafe or effectiveorf unctional. Itremoves so many oft he things th at made the NDIS a lifechanging positive force.We deserve better than vague promises without enforcement.Changes need to happen slowly with real consultation and co-designandwith care forth e vulnerable people who will be killed by thi sb illif itpasses. Asan ND ISparticipant as someone wh o works inthedisabilitysector anda citizen iaskfor thisbilltobewithdraw n.