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

Submission 2366

Hello,

I am a resident of Northcote in Naarm/ Melbourne. I am a community engagement worker and have worked across the community services sector over the past 5 years or so.

Many of my loved ones and community members I have built rela@onships with through work are on the NDIS. I am wri(ng to say that I oppose the new NDIS bill.

The NDIS has made a huge difference to the lives of many individuals, families and communi@es since its establishment. I have witnessed that it has enabled people much greater independence, choice, autonomy and enabled par@cipa@on in their families and communi@es in a way that would not be possible without the supports they receive through the NDIS.

I fear that without these supports, people living with a disability would not be fully equipped with the support they need to be healthy and well, to sustain a meaningful social life, to par@cipate in community, work and other aspects of society in the way they would like to. Further, I am gravely concerned about the poten@al harm that could be caused with these changes. Some of this harm includes (but is not limited to) people being subject to receiving personal care from people who they are not comfortable being naked in front of and wouldn’t want to be touched by, people being neglected (by carers not showing up etc). A beau@ful element of the NDIS that I have witnessed firsthand for many people is that they are in a posi@on to choose what care they have. When somebody lives in a body that does not afford them as much choice, ability and freedom as other bodies have, the least we can offer is the power to make choices about their access to personal care, healthcare and community par@picipa@on.

As a community worker I am also incredibly concerned about the decline in mental health that will undoubtedly occur if the changes proposed by this Bill come into place. The decline in mental health that I suspect will occur will be due the lack of agency that people will have over their own lives, decreased access to social and community par@cipa@on and increased risk of abuse, neglect and other experiences that are likely to cause trauma.

The Bill in its current form is HARMFUL and should NOT be passed by Parliament.

PLEASE do the right thing by all these people who deserve to make their own decisions about their lives.