National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2433
Submission on the NDIS Amendment Bill, 31/05/2026
I am a 21 year old student who is disabled. I have been on the NDIS since I was 17 because I am autistic (diagnosed as Level 2 at 16 years old) and have psychosocial disabilities. I am also a youth and disability advocate, and have friends and close family members who are disabled/NDIS participants.
Through the supports I access, I have been able to increase my functional capacity to do the things I want and live life fully. I have been able to go to university, including participating in fieldwork and a semester exchange to the UK, and get a part time job doing what I enjoy within the university. The occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy, and other key supports I have accessed has allowed me to increase my functional capacity to do these things. I am really grateful to have been able to access the NDIS and the supports I need, as without this I would not have been able to go to university at all, let alone go on exchange and get a job.
I do not support this Bill. I am worried that the new NDIS Bill will effectively punish me for the fact that the Scheme has worked for me. With the new definition of functional capacity ignoring personal and environmental circumstances, I am very concerned that the NDIA will consider me ‘not disabled enough’, too functionally capable, to warrant being on the NDIS. This ignores the fact that before accessing the scheme I had a much lower functional capacity. For example, when I was 15-16 I had autistic meltdowns regularly (i.e. on a weekly basis or more, which was highly distressing for me and my family), and I was not able to do more than one thing per day. I had to drop more than half of my classes in Year 10 because my functional capacity was so low, and I had to work from home much of Year 11 despite transferring into a non-mainstream schooling program that was more suited to my needs. My higher functional capacity now is entirely due to the supports I have been able, and continue, to access through the NDIS. This temporarily increased functional capacity does not mean that I am not permanently disabled or do not need access to the NDIS, contrary to the wording of the new Bill, which would ignore the factors that contribute to my increased capacity to only focus on this temporary state of increased capacity.
I know that if I am no longer able to access the supports I currently have, my functional capacity will significantly decline – I need these ongoing, consistent supports to keep doing the things I want and need to do as outlined in my plan goals. For me, if I am removed from the scheme or my funding is cut significantly, I know that my functional capacity will be reduced to the point I will not be able to continue my studies or work at all. I will be much more of a ‘burden’ on the economy and welfare system, because I will need to apply for disability pension or youth allowance instead of being able to work and work towards a future career. I will be returned to the level of functioning (or lack thereof) of my mid teen years as described above if I cannot continue to access these supports.
As I also have a chronic pain condition not covered by the Scheme, I am worried that under the new Bill (where supports have to meet needs specifically arising from the condition you are on the NDIS for) my access to the supports I need will be significantly reduced or disappear. I have been able to access physiotherapy to significantly increase my functional capacity and quality of life, and reduce my pain. Without these supports and under the wording of the new Bill, I am very worried that I will not be able to access these anymore because my chronic pain is not seen as directly related to my autism, despite the latter contributing to its severity through low muscle tone etc. If I can no longer access these
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2433
supports, similar to above, my functional capacity will decline and I will find it difficult if not impossible to continue at work and university. My future job prospects will also be considerably limited by reduced physical ability – e.g. without treatment I am unable to sit at a desk or walk more than 10 metres on worse days.
I fundamentally do not support this Bill because it ignores the lived reality of disabilities like mine, including neurodivergence and psychosocial conditions, as having functional capacities that are dynamic, fluctuating, and significantly impacted by the environment and personal circumstances. The changes proposed in this Bill, specifically the new definition of functional capacity and the strict requirements around funding needing to be directly related to the accepted condition, will have severe, significant, and in many cases life-threatening impacts. This is particularly the case for people like me, who contribute significantly to our communities and society at large, or may seem ‘high-functioning’, but only because of the supports we receive from the NDIS. When I say life-threatening, I mean that the lives we have built for ourselves (& the one I have built for myself over the last four years) are built on NDIS supports; without this foundation everything falls down irreparably. But I also mean this literally. I would not be alive without my NDIS supports. Without my NDIS supports I will not be living, just (maybe, if I’m lucky) surviving.
I ask the committee to please consider my lived experience when reviewing this Bill.