National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2563
Judy Hartwig
29/05/2026
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone: +61 2 6277 3515 community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
Dear Committee Members
I am a mother and NDIS Nominee of a young man (25) with Down Syndrome and Autism spectrum disorder.
I wish to submit my views on the NDIS Future Generations Bill 2026. I am deeply concerned about how this bill will affect the safety and independence of many people with disabilities but particularly my son.
The proposed cuts to funding, in particular the cuts to Social and Community participation are very concerning. My son is a very social person and loves to be able to access and participate in his local and extended community. Without or with reduced funding for Social and Community participation my son would be stuck at home with little access to activities he enjoys, activities that also improve his health and wellbeing. This means in the long term it would affect his health and wellbeing including both his physical and mental health. It would also decrease his social abilities and mean he would not be able to be an active member of his local community.
I have concerns regarding the proposed changes to providers needing to be registered and how that will affect the way my son’s plan is used. I am also concerned about how this will affect future options to self-manage. My son requires 24 hour a day, 7 days a week supervision due to his intellectual disability. That is 168 hours per week. We are currently funded for around 34 hours per week. My son’s plan is self-managed and I am his nominee. We self-employ his support workers -that means we do a payroll and they are my son’s employees not independent support workers. By doing this his funding can be stretched to provide extra hours of support and have reduced travel costs. If forced to use registered providers a third of his funding is lost in provider travel as we live in a rural area. This means a significant decrease in the number of hours our funded support can be used for and an increase in the number of support hours provided by my son’s informal supports. At present my son does not have funds for weekend or overnight support. My son’s main informal 1
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future
Generations) Bill 2026 Submission by Judy Hartwig
National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026
Submission 2563
supports are my husband and I and we are getting older. My husband also has a significant health issue which requires support provided by myself. We are starting to look at succession planning for my son’s future support needs. In the future I can only see my son needing an increase in funded support not a decrease.
I am aware that there needs to be changes to make the NDIS viable in the future but cutting funding to those who are most vulnerable is not the way. Perhaps a closer look at the amount providers are allowed to charge under the NDIS price guide would be a good place to start. Reducing the amount that funded support costs rather than reducing the level of funding.
Regards
Judy Hartwig
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