National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 2478
For the Attention of the Chairman of the Commission on Enquiry into the NDIS Reform Bill 2026
I write the parent of a child with an intellectual disability, and wish express my serious concerns with the proposed cuts to the scope of supports provided by the NDIS.
Our 19 year old daughter, lives with a mild intellectual disability. She finished high school last year and now attends a local community centre in the ‘finding and keeping a job’ program 2 days per week. She also attends TAFE part time receiving TAFE disability provisions. She hopes to find work in the theatre and entrainment industries.
Due to her disability, she is unable to organise her daily living without some level of support. Although her diagnosis is mild, her functional capacity to understand money, time management, and personal care is limited.
Before gaining access to the NDIS, we had to self-fund programs to assist our daughter, such as speech and occupational therapy. This was a significant financial impost on our family, with my wife being the primary carer was restricted in her capacity to work. The NDIS has allowed her to access specialised supports and interventions to build capacity and living skills, hopefully to achieve some level of independence and to live a rewarding and happy life.
Every day we see the benefits of the programs and supports the NDIS has allowed her to access.
Our great fear is that the original purpose of the NDIS, being to provide opportunity for every Australian with a disability to achieve their best outcomes, to maximise their independence, enhance their social and economic participation, and empower them with choice and control over their lives, is going to be significantly restricted: only those with the most severe disabilities will be supported to provide a basic level of care, while those with mild and moderate disabilities will be left behind, with their families left to support them as best as their circumstances allow.
For us, the financial impacts of losing funding will be a challenge, but for many families this will be simply impossible. Even more importantly, the impacts on the individual participants will be devastating. Losing opportunities for social inclusion goes against everything that a fair and equitable society should be.
Many people with disabilities live in our local community because they are accepted and supported, and it’s devastating to see how these impending changes is causing significant anxiety to some of the most vulnerable people in the community.
Yes, we hear stories of “rampant fraud” and exploitation, with unlicensed and unqualified providers exploiting participants: surely these are administrative issues that
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 2478
a competent government can address without punishing the participants. They absolutely deserve high quality services but cutting their approved funding package wont address this.
It seems the whole narrative is to portray the NDIS as at best dysfunctional and at worst corrupt, to sway public opinion and garner public support for the proposed changes.
When the NDIS was brought in by the Gillard Government, with bi-partisan support, it was seen as a “game-changer” for people with disabilities, who for too long have had to deal with fragmented and inadequate state-based systems which frequently fell far short of providing safe and dignified care, while families of children with disabilities frequently suffered and struggled in silence.
Engagement and participation in the mainstream was simply not an option for many: the NDIS has changed this and empowered many people to achieve things in their lives that would simply not have been possible before.
I really fear that what is being proposed with the current Bill is a return to the “bad old days”, dressed up as efficiency. The proposed bill should be supported in current form, and in particular the changes set out in Schedule 1 should be withdrawn and re-drafted in a way that is consistent with the values of a decent and caring society.