NDIA Accountability Project

Concerns regarding supports for autistic young people pursuing tertiary education

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Submission 2354

31 May 2026

Request: Publication as “Name Withheld”

This submission discusses the circumstances of a young autistic NDS participant.

Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee

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

Introduction

I am writing to express my concerns regarding the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 and the potential impact it may have on people with disability, including my child and many other young Australians pursuing education, independence, and community participation.

While I acknowledge the importance of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the NDIS and addressing fraud, misuse, and inefficiencies within the Scheme, I am concerned that aspects of the proposed reforms may unintentionally undermine the rights, opportunities, and certainty that participants and their families rely upon.

My concerns relate to:

  • Limited consultation and scrutiny of significant legislative changes.
  • The potential narrowing of access through new eligibility and assessment frameworks.
  • Increased reliance on delegated legislation and administrative rule-making rather than clear legislative protections.
  • Greater use of standardised or automated decision-making processes that may fail to capture individual circumstances.
  • Potential weakening of participant rights and review mechanisms.
  • A growing focus on expenditure management rather than participant outcomes.
  • The cumulative impact of these reforms on participants, carers, and families who rely on the NDIS to pursue education, employment, independence, and community participation.

Any reform of the NDS should preserve its foundational principles of choice, control, inclusion, and support based on individual need.

My child is autistic and was approved for NDS funding after a lengthy process involving assessments, specialist reports, and evidence gathering.

My child has recently transitioned to tertiary education away from the family home. This transition represents a significant milestone towards independence, self-determination, and future employment. Access to appropriate NDS supports has been critical in making this opportunity possible and sustainable.

The NDS Creates Opportunity

Submission 2354

For our family, the NDS is not simply a funding program. It has been a critical enabler of access to tertiary education, greater independence, and future opportunities.

Like many autistic young people, our child experiences challenges that are not always immediately visible. These challenges can affect executive functioning, daily living skills, social participation, emotional regulation, and the ability to navigate complex environments and systems independently.

The supports provided through the NDS help bridge the gap between aspirations and the barriers created by disability.

Supporting young people with disability to pursue education is not only the right thing to do—it is also a sound investment. The supports our child receives increase the likelihood of successfully completing tertiary studies, obtaining employment, achieving greater financial independence, and contributing meaningfully to the community.

Reducing access to support may produce short-term savings, but it risks greater long-term costs through reduced educational attainment, poorer mental health outcomes, increased reliance on family carers, and diminished workforce participation.

I am concerned that reforms which make access more restrictive, increase reassessment requirements, narrow eligibility criteria, or reduce participant supports may place opportunities such as tertiary education, independent living, and future employment at risk.

Young people with disability should not have to choose between pursuing education and maintaining the supports they need to succeed.

Impact on Families

The NDIS has enabled our family to support our child’s goals in a way that would otherwise not be possible.

Without NDIS funding, we would face difficult choices, including whether tertiary studies could continue, whether our child would need to return to the family home, whether family members would need to reduce employment to provide additional support, and whether opportunities for independence, education, and future employment would be significantly diminished.

These are not theoretical concerns. They are practical realities faced by many families across Australia who rely on the NDS to support their loved ones in pursuing meaningful and productive lives.

Recommendations

I respectfully recommend that the Committee:

  • Oppose the Bill in its current form or recommend significant amendments to strengthen participant protections.

  • Extend consultation and undertake genuine co-design with people with disability, families, carers, and representative organisations.

Submission 2354

 3.  Ensure eligibility criteria, assessment frameworks, and key participant protections are clearly defined in primary legislation rather than delegated to future rules or administrative processes.

 4.  Introduce stronger safeguards around standardised assessments and automated decision-making, recognising the complexity and diversity of autistic people's support needs.

 5.  Preserve robust independent review and appeal rights for participants.

 6.  Provide certainty for existing participants regarding ongoing access to necessary supports.

 7.  Ensure participant rights, dignity, choice, control, and individual outcomes remain central objectives of the NDIS.

 8.  Require transparent publication of assessment methodologies, evidence bases, and projected impacts before implementation of reforms.

 9.  Recognise disability supports as an investment in education, employment, independence, and long-term social and economic participation.

10. Ensure NDIS reforms continue to support participants pursuing tertiary education, vocational training, and pathways to employment by maintaining access to the supports required for independent living and study participation.

Conclusion

The sustainability of the NDIS is important. However, sustainability should not come at the expense of accessibility, fairness, transparency, or the rights of people with disability.

Access to NDIS supports has made it significantly easier for our child to pursue tertiary education away from the family home and develop the skills and confidence needed to work towards an independent future.

This experience reflects exactly the type of outcome the NDIS was designed to achieve: supporting people with disability to participate in education, develop independence, contribute to their communities, and improve future employment opportunities.

I encourage the Committee to recommend significant amendments to the Bill, or reject it in its current form until meaningful consultation has occurred and stronger participant protections are incorporated into the legislation.

I urge the Committee to carefully consider the lived experiences of participants and families and to ensure that any reforms strengthen, rather than weaken, the ability of people with disability to access the supports they need to pursue education, independence, employment, and community participation.

Thank you for considering this submission.

Yours sincerely,

[Name Withheld]

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