Submission 2512
Attention: Committee Secretary, Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs
Submitted by email: community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
Date: 10th July 2026
Submission to the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026
The CIT Student Association (CITSA) welcome the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate
Standing Committee on Community Affairs about the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. We want to outline the harm this Amendment Bill will cause if it passes Parliament. This Bill is too far-reaching to pass as it stands. I believe the Bill requires further scrutiny and amendment before it proceeds. As a community organisation that connects students with services and supports people who experience barriers or disadvantage, we see firsthand how inadequate support impacts people’s health, safety, and ability to live with dignity. Critically, as a service delivery organization to the Canberra Institute of Technology, we work to support students to achieve their aspirations through training. The provision of support is a vital component to allow students to complete their study and support their active participation in society CITSA’s mission is to use the power of our partnerships (both on and off campus) to enhance the student experience. We work to prepare students to be active, useful participants in society. We aim to be: The student issue experts for CIT students The primary touch point for CIT on student issues It is through the lens of our engagement with students that we understand the need for support and resource for students, and more clearly the likely impacts of the proposed changes to the NDIS may restrict and in some cases blocks the ability to access and participate fully in education and training. This Bill will generate significant unintended consequences and without co-design of resources with participants, education providers and all levels of government the impacts of the proposed amendments will disproportionately impact those who need support the most. Key decisions left to ministerial instruments, not law The issue: The Bill allows Ministers to change who gets NDIS support (Schedule 1 Parts 8 and 9) and how much funding people receive (Schedule 1 Part 4; Schedule 3) by signing an instrument, without going back to Parliament. The rules that will determine critical eligibility thresholds (Schedule 1 Parts 1, 8 and 9) have not yet been written. How this affects participants: The decisions that shape the lives of participants, whether they qualify for the NDIS and what supports they can access, could be changed without parliamentary debate or public scrutiny. Participants, and those who support them, may not know supports or eligibility rules have changed until their plan is affected. Recommendation: Require that all decisions affecting NDIS eligibility and funding levels be made through primary legislation subject to full parliamentary scrutiny, with mandatory advance notice to affected participants before any changes take effect.
Submission 2512
Existing participants face narrower criteria and fewer rights to challenge decisions The issue: The Bill changes the rules for existing NDIS participants and makes it harder to challenge some decisions about supports and funding. It also restricts when you can request a reassessment, removes review rights for automatic plan renewals, and makes funding reductions unreviewable (Schedule 1 Parts 1 and 8). Combined with restrictions on reassessment requests (Part 2), automatic plan renewals without review rights (Part 5), and unreviewable funding reductions (Part 4), existing participants face narrower criteria with significantly fewer avenues to challenge decisions about their supports. How this affects participants: This does not protect participants already on the NDIS, who could be reassessed under stricter rules. If someone’s funding is reduced or their plan renewed automatically, they may have limited or no ability to challenge that decision. This could make it harder for people to get extra support when their circumstances or disability change. As a student advocacy organisation we support the principle of natural justice and the right to review, particularly with the option to include an advocate to support the participant in any review or appeal of decisions. Recommendation: Require a “no harm” safeguard ensuring no current participant loses access to supports unless equivalent supports are in place, with independent review rights before any exit decision and access to unscheduled reassessments preserved. Unreviewable ministerial power to cut funding across all support categories The Minister can reduce funding for any support or group of supports by a specified percentage through an instrument that cannot be challenged (Schedule 1 Part 4). This applies across all budget categories. Unspent funds will no longer carry over at plan renewal (Schedule 1 Part 5). How this affects participants: A participant’s community participation, capacity building or assistive technology funding could be cut without warning and without any right to appeal. Participants who save unspent funds across plan periods for high-cost items will lose that ability entirely. Any decision to no longer carry over funds at plan renewal may lead to timing related decisions rather than value for the participant based decisions which will not benefit either the participant or the Scheme itself. Recommendation: Require that unspent funds carry over at plan renewal for participants saving for high-cost items and require independent review rights before any funding reduction takes effect. Requirement to exhaust treatment options before eligibility The issue: A person with disability will need to exhaust treatment options before they can be eligible for the Scheme (Schedule 1 Part 8). There will also be a removal of whole-of-person assessment, replaced by single eligible impairment consideration (Schedule 1 Part 3). The note that previously acknowledged environmental factors and other ineligible impairments could affect support needs will be removed (Schedule 1 Part 3). How this affects participants: People with disability will need to prove their impairment cannot be treated before they access the NDIS. Once in the scheme, their supports will only be assessed against a single eligible impairment rather than their whole experience. A person’s individual circumstances will not be considered, including ability to pay for treatment, where they live or whether treatment is actually available to them. Recommendation: Do not proceed with a requirement to exhaust “appropriate treatment” options – there are no safeguarding measures around participant harm due to side effects or complications, a participant’s financial ability to pay, or their geographic capacity to access treatments.
Submission 2512
Unvalidated functional capacity assessment tool risks misidentifying need The issue: The Bill shifts assessment from whole-of-person consideration to a single eligible impairment (Schedule 1 Part 3). Read together with the eligibility thresholds in Parts 8 and 9, the tool used to conduct functional capacity assessments must be capable of sufficiently identifying whether a person meets the threshold for that single impairment. The named assessment tool is the Instrument for Classification and Assessment of Support Needs (I CAN). I-CAN requires validation to ensure it will sufficiently identify the needs of all people with disability, including those whose needs may be fluctuating or episodic and may not be captured through a point-in-time assessment, and to ensure it is culturally appropriate for First Peoples with disability. How this affects participants: If the assessment tool does not accurately capture the full extent of a person’s disability, including needs that fluctuate or vary over time, a participant may be found ineligible or have their supports undercounted, with no guarantee the result reflects their actual experience. In the context of participants engaged with education providers, often with the intended outcome of increasing the options for or enabling future employment, this scenarion will create a further risk of unintended negative outcomes. Recommendation: Do not proceed with I-CAN as the functional capacity assessment tool unless it has been demonstrably validated to identify the needs of all people with disability, including those with episodic or fluctuating disability, and demonstrated to be culturally appropriate for First Peoples with disability. Supports cut before replacement system is ready The issue: From 1 October 2026, the government has announced funding for social, civic and community participation supports will be cut by 50 per cent and capacity building daily activities by 10 per cent for all participants, reductions that will be implemented through the ministerial instrument power in Schedule 1 Part 4. The Foundational Supports system intended to fill that gap has no confirmed implementation date and is not yet operational. How this affects participants: Supports that help participants connect with their community, build skills and maintain independence may be cut before anything exists to replace them, leaving carers and families with greater responsibilities and no additional support. These supports are often what help people stay visible, connected and safe. Participants who we know use this to support participation in education will face new and significant barriers to continue or even commence education. The current Free TAFE initiative has people with a disability as a priority cohort and whilst the fees are free, many students still require their own resources to support their education, including digital tools, such as laptops, and other costs of participation, including assistance with transport to and accompanying in class and other activities as part of their study. Any reduction in support resources will compound barriers and reduce participation and completion which will ultimately reduce or slow their path to employment. The Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) recently released a Discussion Paper on “A More Joined-Up Tertiary System” as part of a recent consultation. The Discussion Paper supports the development of the Tertiary Roadmap and provides a basis for wider public discussion on issues in the current system that the Roadmap could address. It identifies key barriers and challenges learners face when engaging with both the VET and higher education sectors and sets out potential areas of reform for consideration.
Submission 2512
It is important that as part of this discussion that agencies like ATEC also consider and assess the potential impact of the proposed funding arrangements that support participants in education. In addition, there is an opportunity to also work with education providers to assess, how and if, a National framework could be developed to support participants across the tertiary education sector to complement or address any proposed changed funding arrangements. At the Canberra Institute of Technology, approximately 2000 students (18% of all students) identify as having a disability and CITSA is aware of a number of students who utilise the participation support under the existing arrangements to enable their involvement in class room training, and our concern is that these imminent arrangements will not only immediately impact Semester 2 study arrangements as its introduced halfway through the period but will not allow any effective co-design with student participants, education providers, advocates and agencies for alternate arrangements. The below content in italic is provided by our CITSA Council Chair, who identifies as having a disability, whilst also working as a peer support worker speaks to the lived experience in the ACT. The NDIS in its current form allows individuals the extra support they may need to access education. Without the support of one-on-one support workers students may be unable to attend classes, and participate in student life. Having support or even just having the knowledge that the support is available when needed can allow individuals the confidence to push themselves and try new things. Without this security of support - and the confidence this can bring - individuals may self-exclude from participating in further education. Without access to this type of NDIS support I would not have had the confidence to enrol in TAFE education. By having the capacity to have individual support workers attend classes, assessments, and student activities when required it has allowed me to now complete multiple courses and participate in CITSA. Without this extra support completing any in person education would have been impossible for me, and I am worried about the extra barriers this may place on other individuals. Participating in study has given me confidence, connection to the community and opened the door to employment as a NDIS peer support worker. As well as providing transport and helping students navigate their physical surrounds on campus, currently NDIS support workers such as myself are everydy assisting students by helping to build confidence and increase and maintain motivation to attend/complete course components, assisting students by explaining tasks and lesson content in a way that is accessible to them, taking notes that will assist that individual suited to their learning style and capabilities, helping individuals communicate with staff and fellow students, providing emotional support and helping students co regulate and stay regulated during classes/assessments/placements, as well as helping individuals when they become distressed. Under current arrangements there are no other supports available at CIT which can replicate this, and if no others are put in place then this extra burden would fall on carers and may prove a prohibitive barrier for individuals to participate. Peronally and professionally I am concerned that if these reforms are passed prior to other effective supports being established the ability of individuals to access courses and providers of their choice will be greatly limited at best, and completely removed for others. After seeing personally and professionally how access to education can be life changing, I do not want any indivuals to be excluded from such opportunity. Recommendation: Require that no reductions to community participation or capacity building supports take effect until Foundational Supports are fully operational, adequately funded and demonstrably able to meet the needs of those who will lose NDIS supports.
Submission 2512
CITSA would welcome the opportunity to engage further with the Committee and other stakeholders in the inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment Bill 2026, including in particular best practice arrangements to support participants in the tertiary education sector. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this submission please contact Andrew Scotford, Chief Executive Officer at the CIT Student Association via the below email or phone .
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Scotford
Chief Executive Officer
CIT Student Association
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