National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2473
To whom it may concern. I do not support the current bill to amend the NDIS program. Our government should not be restricting who has access to life-changing and life-saving care. They should in fact be expanding the NDIS program. The mention of automated decision making is deeply concerning. Computers should not be making decisions around Australians’ healthcare, medical professionals should be. We know AI is as discriminatory as those who program it, and flawed as the sources it consumes as it is continually moulded. Look at health insurance companies in America and how many people have their claims rejected by a machine that does not have empathy, does not understand their situation or their eligibility and is found to frequently make errors.
Additionally, the “not contactable” rules proposed in the bill are in direct conflict with the reality of a disabled person’s capacity. My partner is disabled and some days, some weeks, some months even, he does not have capacity to do admin work or be in contact with people. Some disabled people spend significant periods of time in hospital, in housing crises, or in various other high stress situations which may result in replying to an email being quite low on their hierarchy of needs. This bill was clearly written by people who do not know what it’s like to be in survival mode, fighting for your life, in need of support. Were any disabled people currently on the NDIS or waiting to be approved for it even consulted during the drafting process of this bill? Our government is meant to represent us and our values, yet this bill shows they are so out of touch with what people need.
There is already a massive administrative burden on disabled people to try and prove they meet the requirements to access care. There are already long wait times and restrictions on who can and can’t get support which can cause disabled people’s conditions to get worse and can result in lowered quality of life, and in some cases, death. Even if our government does not care about disabled people as individuals and does not believe healthcare should be freely available for everyone as a human right, the proposed bill amendments are short sighted from an economic standpoint as well. If disabled people cannot access care until their conditions have worsened, the costs of their care will increase. Early intervention is crucial for disabled people. If they cannot access the NDIS at all or get kicked off for not meeting the new requirements, disabled people will end up spending more time in hospital, costing our hospitals more and putting a strain on our already struggling healthcare system. If you cannot act out of a place of compassion and morality, perhaps think of the long term financial benefits of assisting disabled people to be able to be in society, perhaps be able to work and contribute to the economy. While I don’t believe human worth should ever be defined by productivity, it seems our government values money over lives. That is certainly the message this proposed bill sends.
I cannot and do not support the bill, as the partner of a disabled person. As the cousin of a disabled person. As a friend to many disabled people. As a colleague to many disabled people. As a human with a conscience. I urge our government to withdraw this bill. I find it disgusting and shameful that such little value would be placed on the lives of disabled Australians.
I ask the committee to consider the lived experience of the disabled community when reviewing this Bill.