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

Submission 2342

Our child is diagnosed Level 2 Autistic. We have several serious concerns about the proposed Bill.

Evidence of Daily Impact by standardised ‘Functional Assessments’ by non-trained specialists who do not know our child or family.

Our daughter’s autistic traits were diagnosed by working with psychologists and a neuropsychologist over about 2 years. This is the challenge of assessing high masking autism. On a report card at school and behaviour-wise, she would seem the ‘perfect student’. Walking down the street in the shops, she would appear ‘normal’ and ‘functioning’. However, in these daily living activities, she is working hard to interpret others, watch facial expressions, mimic and control facial movements, respond appropriately, deal with sensory issues such as light and sound, and deal with others saying she is different and weird.

So, to a non-trained professional, she would seem ‘functioning’. At home is when the support is needed, with meltdowns, harmful behaviours, food restrictions, inability to participate in household asks, inability to start a shower amongst other sensory and capacity challenges.

Support through the NDIS from highly trained psychologists and OT who are specialists in autism support us to be able to support our daughter, so that she can function outside of the home. This requires preparation and planning before and after outings, including school. It is ongoing, and whilst we may be able to minimise the severity of the impact, the need for her to have support in navigating the social and sensory differences of this lifelong disability will never go away.

We do not feel that the proposed changes to the NDIS have been described well enough. We have felt in the lead-up to the announcement of the package that autistic people were treated as a burden who are trying to rip off the Aussie Tax Payer. This perpetuates the stigma that we face with community, friends, and family, to convince them that our child does very much have a diagnosed disability.

We are also concerned that the knowledge and support provided by highly skilled professionals (in our case, a psychologist, a neuropsychologist, and an OT) could be shifted to the family as ‘reasonable support’. As parents who both work, with other neurodiversity support requirements in the family, we are at capacity. I am also managing a chronic disease. We can’t imagine our support team funded through the NDIS disappearing.

Thriving Children is a concern. Teachers are not highly trained psychologists and neuropsychologists. In our experience, just getting one email response from the school can take 4 months, just to make a student support meeting. Teachers are not trained or equipped to support masking autistics. To them, hey appear ‘normal’, but they have no idea how to make reasonable accommodations for the sensory and social turmoil of an autistic in a social situation like school. The school struggled to support a basic toileting need.

What these changes mean for me, my daughter, your family, friends, carers, or community:

It is very clear from the rhetoric pre-launch and from the proposed changes that autistic people are being targeted for potential removal from the NDIS or significant reduction in support. The changes mean our child may lose access to the psychologist and OTs who have taken years to get to know our daughter and family to be able to support us. These professionals support our daughter in understanding her disability and teaching and practising tips and tricks for coping. They also support our whole family with understanding and skills.

Loss of this support will mean we have reduced knowledge, capacity and support to be able to understand this disability and support her. This would lead to higher dysregulation and dysfunction at home, right at the time when she is entering adolescence and the social pressures of secondary school.

This could lead to:

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

Submission 2342

• Less capacity to be able to attend school. Schooling may need to be stopped. This leads to less positive social and economic outcomes (e.g., job-readiness) for her.
• Less ability to develop skills and strategies to understand herself and advocate for her needs, be able to participate in activities outside the home such as supermarkets and outings. This will become a social and economic burden on the government in the long term.
• Bullying, social isolation, and masking, which can lead to anxiety, depression, heightened autistic traits, and autistic burnout. Again, a social and economic burden which will cost the government long term
• The real possibility of repeated severe meltdowns, burnout and hospitalisation. Again, this will cost the government long term.
• The threat of self-harm. The bill seriously puts people in harm’s way. Again, this will cost the government long term.
• Further strain on family and relationships, the potential for family breakdown. Again, a social and economic burden that will impose costs on the government in the long term.
• Inability to work. We are struggling to stay in the workforce with the NDIS supports we have. With no NDIS support, I’d likely have to stop work and go on benefits to try to support my daughter. Again, a social and economic burden that will impose costs on the government in the long term.