NDIA Accountability Project

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

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National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submission 2527

Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community AƯairs

National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS

for Future Generations) Bill 2026 Submitted by: (NDIS Participant)

Date: 29 May

I am an NDIS participant living with Multiple Sclerosis and sole parent of a young child.

I am concerned that the current direction of the NDIS is creating increasing administrative burden and reducing flexibility for participants whose support needs change over time.

My concerns include:

  1. My funding periods were reduced from 6 months to 3 months despite increasing support needs. This limits my ability to redistribute supports during periods of increased need and increases the risk of exhausting funding prematurely.

  2. I have experienced significant delays between providing evidence of functional decline and receiving practical support. While reassessments and reviews are underway, participants are still expected to manage safety risks, parenting responsibilities, and daily living needs without adequate interim support. In my case, evidence of functional decline was provided months ago, yet I continue to navigate multiple review pathways while living with insuƯicient supports.

  3. Participants are often required to repeatedly provide evidence, navigate multiple pathways, and restart processes despite the NDIA already holding substantial information about their condition and support needs. This creates unnecessary complexity and delays.

  4. I am concerned about excessive evidence requirements for low-cost supports. In some cases, participants are expected to obtain formal reports for relatively low-cost items, even where the cost of obtaining evidence may equal or exceed the value of the support itself. This creates unnecessary administrative burden for participants, clinicians, and the Scheme.

  5. I believe the assessment of “everyday items” does not adequately consider the participant’s individual functional impact if the support is unavailable. For some participants, items that may appear ordinary can function as important supports for fatigue management, cognitive assistance, safety, and maintaining independence.

  6. I have experienced fragmented decision-making across diƯerent NDIA teams, where supports are assessed in isolation rather than in the context of the participant’s overall situation. In my case, a wheelchair support was approved separately while urgent Core support concerns remained unresolved through another process. Participants should not be expected to coordinate multiple teams in order to obtain timely support.

  7. I am concerned that point-in-time assessments and rigid funding structures do not adequately reflect conditions where functional capacity can vary significantly over time.

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

Submission 2527

  1. I recommend greater flexibility for fluctuating conditions, reduced administrative burden for low-cost supports, improved continuity of decision-making, and timely interim support pathways while reassessments or reviews are underway.

Since being approved for the NDIS in October 2025, I have personally had to navigate many of these issues while adjusting to a relatively new diagnosis, ongoing functional decline, and the responsibilities of sole parenting.

A significant amount of my time and energy has been spent understanding processes, gathering evidence, coordinating professionals, following up reviews, and navigating multiple pathways within the Scheme. This has often occurred during periods when my focus should have been on managing my health, maintaining my independence, and caring for my child.

The NDIS exists to support people with disability. Participants should not be required to become experts in complex administrative processes in order to access timely and appropriate supports.

I am making this submission not only as a participant, but as a parent concerned about the future sustainability and accessibility of the Scheme for future generations.

Thank you for considering my submission.